The First Princess
by Shadow-Hawk2
Summary: Can Duo Maxwell recapture the love of his youth or is it too late? What plans do the gods have for Princess Shamara of Calabria?
1. Duo returns with Shamara to Calabria

**__**

Calabria

"They said it wouldn't last." Duo couldn't take his eyes from the woman sitting beside him. A brisk, cool breeze from the sea lifted her tangled red curls and whipped them around her face for a moment, but she didn't seem to notice as she stared out at the moonlight shimmering over the rolling waters of the ocean.

"Seventeen years," she commented, turning now to look at him. Her smile made his heart do a flip and his stomach drop. "I've spent half my life with you now."

Duo touched her cheek and she reached up to put her hand over his. "I'll always love you, Trynity."

She didn't respond, but continued to smile.

"I have some champagne to celebrate our anniversary." Duo turned away to pick up the bottle that was chilling in a bucket of ice on the other side of him. "Damn! I forgot glasses. Oh well, we can drink from the bottle." He was expecting her to laugh, and when he heard nothing, Duo turned back towards her.

The space beside him was empty. He looked around and saw only darkness.

"Trynity?" His heart began to beat faster as a familiar fear took hold of him. Dropping the bottle, he stood and called out for her. "Trynity!". He took several steps away from the shoreline where they had been cuddling, where they always went to be with each other. 

The only response to his call was ocean pounding against the rocks where she had once hidden her gundam. "Trynity!" His voice was echoed as he called out in the darkness. Duo couldn't see any footprints in the sand to indicate where she had gone. But he began to jog in the direction of the laboratory, calling her name.

Finally he stopped. "This isn't funny, Miss Stryfe! Where the hell are you?"

Still no answer.

Duo ran back the way he had come. He couldn't hear her, couldn't see her. "Trynity!" He was afraid for her now. He continued to call for her as he ran back and forth along the shore.

Finally, out of breath, he fell to his knees at the water's edge. "Trynity, where are you?" he shouted to the moon. 

Suddenly the moon seemed to transform into two, and Duo felt the familiar pain of loneliness eat away at his insides. He didn't bother trying to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks.

"Duo?"

Duo could barely see the beautiful young woman through the veil of tears over his eyes. "Go away! Can't you leave me alone in this place?"

As she came out of the darkness, she tossed back her long dark hair and closed the distance between them. Dropping to her knees before him, she gently placed her hand on his chest over his heart and he felt the warmth of her healing touch. "I can take away this pain."

Duo shook his head. By the concern in her big eyes, he knew she had only his well being in mind. "I would rather keep it."

"You are silly!" She did not argue as she took away her hand.

Duo closed his eyes and sighed, and when he opened them again, he was lying on his bed. A warm breeze drifted in from the open window, and he saw the two moons of Calabria. When he turned his head, he was not surprised to see the young woman now releasing his hands.

"I heard you call out," she said, and even in the half-light, he could see color rise to her cheeks. She was lying. She had invaded his dreams again, but he couldn't be angry with her. He could never be angry with her.

Although what he really wanted to do was bury his face in pillow and continue the weeping that he had begun in his dream, Duo forced himself to smile. "I'm sorry I disturbed your sleep again, Shamara."

She clasped her hands in her lap. "If you would let me take the memories that cause you pain, you would not have such disturbing dreams."

Duo laughed as he pulled himself to sitting. "I'm not about to let you lay those hands on me, young lady. I still have to come clean and to explain to your father how you managed to insult Prince Dagan so thoroughly two years ago that he won't even consider seeing you now, let alone marry you."

Shamara made a sound of disgust. "He shouldn't have been so sensitive!"

"You shouldn't have touched him!" 

Shamara had her mother's gifted touch in a much more powerful form, which she had not yet mastered. By touch alone, she could know everything about a person, even things they did not realize themselves. She considered it a curse because she discovered far too much about people. In addition, she often unintentionally transferred her thoughts and feelings back onto them. Shamara had done just that on Bayman when she had met Prince Dagan two years ago. Shamara had not liked what she had learned about the spoiled heir of the Bayman empire. Unfortunately, she had sent her opinion back to him. The young prince had been so insulted that he spent as little time as possible attending to the visitors from Calabria. Now that Shamara was old enough to marry, they had gone back to Bayman to meet the prince again, but this time he absolutely refused to meet her.

"We should have told your father when it had happened," muttered Duo. Trey wasn't going to be happy, first because his plans to unite Bayman and Calabria were looking more like a pipe dream, and second because any man would dare reject the first princess of Calabria, his beloved daughter.

"We will just tell him that Prince Dagan and I are not suited for each other. He will understand. He wants me to marry someone that I can love." Shamara tossed back her silky hair and lifted her chin. "My father will not be angry."

Duo chuckled. She was right. The emperor was wrapped around her little finger. Duo couldn't think of a single time that Trey had punished his daughter, then again, Shamara had always been a dutiful child so she would never have warranted any punishment. However, she couldn't find a worse time to butt heads with her father. Duo was quite sure that Trey expected her to marry Dagan. 

"You had better get back to your own room or someone might get the wrong idea," he finally said.

Shamara paused at the door to stick out her tongue. "Who would get the wrong idea about you, Lord Duo?"

He was smiling to himself much later about her comment as he headed toward the hall where the emperor received visitors. The guards at the door nodded respectfully to him before opening the doors and stepping aside. She was right. No one would suspect him of compromising the emperor's daughter. She was as close to a daughter as he would ever get.

Duo passed through the door, and as usual he marveled at the ornate reception hall of the emperor of Calabria. Although the hall was usually filled with men and women petitioning Emperor Trey for this or that, today there were only a few attending him. He caught sight of Trey standing near the table set by the window to catch the light. An older man was speaking as Trey stared down at what appeared to be a map. Nearby stood Apolo, governor of the Wastelands, brother of the emperor's wife. 

Duo cringed when he saw a spark of interest jump to Apolo's eyes when he noticed his arrival. The Wasteland governor ceased to listen to whatever enthralled Trey and moved to greet Duo. "My lord, you have returned! I did not realize my niece had come back from Bayman already."

Trey looked up from the map and he also moved away from the man who stopped talking and stepped respectfully away although Duo could see that he was annoyed at the interruption. "Duo, when did you return?"

Duo took the hand stretched out in greeting, then allowed Trey to pull him into an embrace. He never ceased to be amazed that the silent Trowa Barton had become the ruler of a planet, the most powerful man in the binary system. "We arrived late last night and did not wish to disturb anyone."

Trey's brows lifted slightly. "Your visit to Bayman was very short."

Apolo laughed and clapped a hand on his back. "How could any warm-blooded man not want Princess Shamara as his wife?" He turned his attention back to Duo and he was rubbing his hands together. "Now, my dear lord Duo, I may have someone I would like you to meet! You were not been interested in my oldest daughter, nor my second oldest…"

Trey grunted. "You have seventeen daughters, Apolo."

"And each need a husband."

"I'm not about to marry seventeen women," said Duo. The women were not truly Apolo's daughters. Since the beginning of the reign of Emperor Trey, Apolo had taken it upon himself to rescue any females left in the Wastelands by imperial families who were too stubborn to abide by the new laws. Although several years had passed since the Guerani healer had rescued any infants - Trey's edict that men caught attempting to dispose of infants would lose their own lives effectively ended that practice - he still had on his hands many "daughters", most of marriageable age.

"Such a thing isn't allowed." Apolo chuckled. "If it were, I'd have a dozen wives myself."

"I don't think you can handle even one," remarked Trey under his breath. "That is why you don't have a wife either."

"I mustn't be selfish! There is plenty of me to go around, and I wouldn't want to deprive the many women the joy of my company." Apolo turned his attention back to Duo. "Still not ready to take a wife?"

Duo would never be ready to take a wife. In his heart he was already married, and that would never change. Taking a deep, cleansing breath that didn't really alleviate the pain he felt in his chest, he ignored Apolo to tell Trey, "Things did not go well on Bayman."

His brows raised. As he grew older, Trey looked more and more like his father, but without the cruelty so characteristic in the green eyes of Zeno the Butcher. Yet Trey commanded no less respect from his subjects. "What has she done now?"

"The prince would not see her," admitted Duo.

"Why ever not!?" Apolo was outraged. "She is the most beautiful, kind, warm-hearted…"

"On our last visit she touched his hands, and I think that she accidentally gave him some insight into her opinion of him," interrupted Duo.

"…foolish, careless young woman in the Calabrian system," finished Apolo with a sigh. "I thought she had her powers under control."

"I don't have as much faith as you." Trey frowned. "Now what? I was hoping to bond our planets, and the reports I received of Prince Dagan were favorable."

"Sometimes the official reports don't tell the true story," offered Duo. "Shamara probably read something in him that your spies didn't know about."

"Then I guess there is no way around this than to insist that Shamara turn on her charm," commented Trey more to himself than to his friends.

Duo winced, thinking of Shamara's complete lack of guile. She would probably end up insulting Dagan even worse.

But Trey looked at Apolo. "You should take her with you to train her better in the control of her powers. Arora is too busy with the other children."

Apolo threw up his hands and took a step back. "I don't need another female in my household. I have seventeen who need husbands and they don't need Shamara distracting their possible suitors."

Duo noticed that the man who had been speaking when he had entered to Trey was fidgeting anxiously. "Do you have a project in the works?" he asked the emperor.

Trey looked back at the man too. "Oh, I had almost forgotten. Elder Hardane is a scholar who has been studying the Guerani people, a project my wife is very interested in. He has been researching in the Guerani hills and came across some interesting artifacts."

As if cued by the emperor's words, the scholar moved forward. "There is an exciting tale etched into the walls of a cave which appears to have had some religious significance."

Duo could feel a wave of boredom creeping up on him, but he stifled a yawn and tried to look interested. "What is the tale?"

"According to the legends, the Guerani people where the servants of the gods, and because of their loyalty, the gods rewarded them with powers."

Standard virtual game fare, thought Duo. Then again, did anyone know how those game designers got their ideas? Duo's head began to throb. Not enough sleep. Not enough to eat. Not enough…Well, actually none of that. Maybe he should just take a wife, one who would take care of him. But even the thought made his gut wrench painfully again. Apolo, ever sensitive to his pain, glanced at him, but Duo shook his head. 

"Elder Hardane has translated most of the story, although there seems to be some missing information or some he cannot read," said Trey.

Duo looked at the scholar. "So what happened? Some epic battle of good over evil?"

"Something like that," answered Trey with a wry smile. Duo knew he was thinking of Heero's games. Duo wondered if Heero Yuy still played those games or whether he was living them with his wife. He would have a grown son or daughter by now, perhaps more than one. 

"You don't look well," remarked Apolo, who laid a hand on his shoulder, and his touch acted like a soothing drug to settle his stomach and turn his thoughts away from the regrets that ate away at his insides.

While he smiled gratefully at the Guerani healer, Duo wished Apolo would not use his powers on him. They weakened him, and Duo didn't want to be the cause of any harm coming to his friend. 

The scholar began to drone on. "I am not exactly sure what happened because that is where the story etched into the wall becomes disjointed. There is mention of some violent act, the disappearance of one of the gods into the sky, an explosion..." Elder Hardane sighed mournfully and Duo wondered if the guy had a life outside of his spelunking in the Guerani hills. "The best I can determine is that one of the gods was taken away by people from Bayman. We all know that Bayman has been able to travel space for many generations, so it is logical to conclude that they carried away one of the gods." 

"We aren't talking about recent history," interrupted Apolo. "And this is your theory, Elder Hardane, hardly fact. You said yourself that there are parts of the story missing amongst the artifacts you have collected and that you have been unable to translate some of the script."

"Still, I have come to ask you, my lord emperor, to allow me to travel to Bayman to research there." There was a fanatical gleam in his eyes that Duo found somewhat disturbing.

"I will discuss it with the ambassador along with the other matter. When I have made my decision I will inform you." After the dismissal, he turned his full attention to Duo as the scholar collected his items and shuffled from the room. "So the young prince would not even give her a chance to redeem herself? I cannot believe she would be so harsh in judgment without actually coming to know him."

"You forget," pointed out Apolo, "that she may have seen a side of him in the brief touch of his hands that we would never see."

Trey stroked his chin between his fingers thoughtfully. "And yet she consented to make this visit. So whatever she saw could not have been so dire."

"Only insulting to him," remarked Duo. "Whatever the reason, Prince Dagan made himself quite scarce. King Seighen was profuse in his apologies and kept assuring us that Dagan would present himself, but I got the impression he had no control over the boy."

"Not a boy, but a young man, obviously with a mind and will of his own." Trey chuckled. "Like another young person I know. Is she with her mother?"

"I assume so." Duo sighed. "If we are finished, I would like to pay a visit to Lady Virineia before I return to the moon." He could see the pity in Trey's eyes, but Duo didn't care. He couldn't give up hope. Hope was all he had left to keep him company the rest of his meaningless life.

After accepting Trey's offer to remain another day at the palace to spend time with the imperial family, Duo left the reception room and began the long and familiar trek to Lady Virineia's quarters. Perhaps he continued to visit her because the stargazing mother of the emperor was so much like the woman he left behind. He was comfortable in her presence.

With the wormhole gone and unlikely to reopen, Lady Virineia had taken up the task of mapping space with the goal of finding a more conventional route back to the human solar system. She was convinced that their galaxies could not be so far apart to make such a trip impossible, but as of yet, she had found nothing to substantiate her theory. Not a single star or planet resembled any in solar system from which they had come. But through her efforts, the Calabrian Empire had been able to expand contacts beyond Bayman, their twin planet in this binary system. 

He had almost reached Lady Virineia's apartments when a woman stepped into the corridor escorted by a young man. Duo checked his stride, considered retracing his steps back to Trey on some pretext, then blew out a breath and continued forward.

"Lord Duo, you are so predictable." She batted her long white lashes and held out her hand.

This was an Earth custom he could do without, but Duo knew Trey imposed all the polite formalities paid to women on the Calabrian men so that they would learn to respect the females they once treated as animals lower than mangy dogs. Some women still didn't warrant the respect, he thought as he took her delicate hand.

"Larya, what a surprise to see you on Calabria." He kissed the back of her hand. "Does Lady Arora know that you are here?"

"Don't be silly, Lord Duo. Lady Arora knows everything." Her blue eyes mirrored the contempt she felt for him. Good. They had that in common.

Duo glanced reluctantly at the young man beside her as she quickly withdrew her hand. "You look well, Taeron. Has your training been going well?"

The tall young man's face beamed ecstatically. "Yes, my lord! I am to be made an imperial guard tomorrow. Will you attend the ceremony?"

There was such hope in his eyes that Duo couldn't refuse. "I wouldn't miss it." He thought Larya's son was going to collapse with joy. The boy was in desperate need of guidance, but Duo didn't want to be the one to provide it.

"I have much to do to prepare." He bowed to Duo, kissed his mother's cheek, then bounded away with a spring in his step.

Larya watched him go, then turned back to Duo, her brows together and her eyes like blue fire. "He would be even prouder if you would acknowledge him as your son!"

Duo winced. "He is not my son, Larya."

"Don't say that you could not even possibly be his father, because you could and you know it." Her features softened and she moved closer to him, but Duo was unpleasantly reminded of a snake slithering up to its prey. "We had a lot of fun those days on the pirate satellite."

"I wouldn't remember." After realizing he had lost Trynity through his stupid actions, Duo had done a lot of foolish things; not the least was taking up with Newt. After she had been sent to the pirate station in punishment for her attempt on Trey's life, Larya had attached herself to Newt, Lady Virineia's successor. But she had no loyalty to the pirate leader. Like a parasite, she latched onto whoever could provide for her best. Vulnerable and alone, Duo fell prey to her, and he didn't even care until one day he awoke from his nightmare of self-pity to find Newt dead and Larya demanding that he claim her baby son. Duo wasn't stupid enough to do that, knowing that she only wanted to use him to get back to Calabria. To her credit, Larya went on to make her own way on the pirate satellite, using her cleverness and most definitely her beauty. When the colonies were set up on the moons, Duo had been chosen to administer to one, and in a surprise move, Trey chose Larya to administer to the other. Granted, there were more women on Larya's moon colony, abandoned, rejected women, but she proved herself quite competent in managing the colony while raising her son on her own.

"Give it some thought," she finally said. She had reigned in her temper. "Taeron needs a male in his life, Lord Duo. Even if you don't believe he is your son, couldn't you pretend?"

"It's not fair to him or to me." He tried to go past her, but she grabbed his arm. She had a strong grip.

"I hoped after these many years that you could let go and move ahead. I don't want my son to be hurt because you can't change the past."

"Are you going to threaten me?" Duo towered over her and glared down at Larya. "Let go of my arm."

She released him. "I know you could snap me in half, Lord Duo. You don't have to prove it."

Without giving her a chance to speak further, he pushed past and entered Lady Virineia's apartments. Larya's words bothered him, probably because they were true. He couldn't help his feelings. He couldn't help believing that Taeron was Newt's son. True, the boy was a good person; Larya had done a good job raising him. Would it hurt so much to call him son?

"I was wondering when you would be paying me a visit." Lady Virineia came forward and kissed his cheeks. She was like a mother to him. In fact, Duo had been sharing Trey's family ever since he had come to terms with the fact he was trapped here. 

"The trip did not go well."

"I have already heard." Virineia had food and drink waiting on a table. "Will you join me?"

"I am starving." They sat down together and shared a breakfast in silence for a few moments before Virineia spoke again.

"I heard your little argument in the hall with Larya."

He swallowed his mouthful of food. "I can't do it, Lady Virineia. He isn't my son."

"I understand." She couldn't meet his eyes, so he knew that she didn't understand. Duo would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to know that the imperial first family had accepted Taeron. The only one who hadn't was the most important. Taeron didn't belong to any man's house, a fact that probably caused him some anguish deep down. 

Duo sighed. "Isn't there some way for you to test his blood and mine, like you did Trey's when we first arrived?"

Virineia looked at him. "I'm sorry, Duo, but I only determined that Trey had Calabrian blood. I am not a medical doctor. I do not know the exact procedures used on Earth to test such a thing."

The whole idea was ridiculous anyway. He had accepted long ago that he would never have any children of his own, that he wasn't able. Taeron wasn't his son.

"Larya is a good mother. You surely know that without Trey and Arora's acceptance, Taeron would be scorned for the accident of his birth."

"His birth was no accident," Duo reminded her. "Calabrian women plan these things down to the last detail. She tried to hang on to Newt with a kid and when that didn't pan out, she decided to cast her net for me."

Lady Virineia sighed. "Do not blame her for looking for the best for her and her son. I heard what you said to him about his great honor."

"I thought I should say it." Duo stared down at his food, suddenly losing his appetite as he remembered the joy on the young man's face. 

"You might want to consider taking Taeron back to your moon," said Virineia, putting her hand over his on the table. "A relationship with him might be good for you."

Duo pulled his hand away then turned to look at her telescope set up at a high window, pointed to the sky. "Have you discovered anything?"

"A few stars, a comet or two. I am sorry Duo, but nothing is familiar."

"Do you think she is looking at the skies searching for me?" Duo closed his eyes to conjure a picture of the woman of his dreams, but there was nothing but black. What had that imp Shamara done to him?

"I am sure she is." Virineia patted his hand and he opened his eyes. "Finish eating or your stomach will be growling in a few moments."

Duo chuckled and turned his attention back to his food. He would have a little talk with Shamara later. And he might give Taeron's future some thought. Maybe he could bend a little. 


	2. Trynity vs the Winner Foundation

**__**

Earth, Cinq Kingdom

"I'll take another glass of champagne." Trynity watched as the sparkling wine poured into the delicate crystal glass, then tipped it until she heard the musical clink of glass to glass. "To us." She drained the glass and set it aside, then drew up her legs and wrapped her arms around her knees. As she watched the glistening waves in the moonlight, she dug her bare toes into the sand. The warm water surged forward, almost reaching her.

__

"Hey, babe, you're going to get wet. The tide is coming in."

"I like the water," she mumbled.

"I do too, but not that much," he grumbled in return.

Trynity turned her head and smiled. "I think I can get you to like it, Duo Maxwell." Before he could respond, she lunged at him and knocked him on his back.

"Damn it, Trynity, I'm getting sand in my hair!" But he had no chance to complain further as she started kissing him, and soon enough he had forgotten about the tide rolling in and the sand in his hair. Before they were done, there was sand everywhere and wet, sticky seawater.

She rested her head on his bare chest, wondering why he was still so bony after eating every morsel of food he could get his hands on day after day. The cadence of his heart was comforting, so she put her arms around him. Trynity would doze just a few seconds. Although she knew that closing her eyes could be dangerous, she tightened her grip on him. All she needed was just a couple of seconds of rest to clear her head. He would still be there when she awoke.

"Mom!" 

Her eyes jerked open, and she found herself face down in the wet sand, and the water was already up to her waist as she lay on the beach. Trynity shook her head and tried to sit up, but her clothing was soaked and heavy, and for some reason she couldn't move very fast. The beach was spinning around her. Was she sick? As if in answer, her stomach heaved, and she emptied it on the beach. 

"Hey, mom, are you okay?"

Trynity blinked and raised her head to see a tall young man she did not at first recognize in the moonlight. She wiped her mouth with a trembling hand and sat back in the sloppy rising tide. "I'm fine. I think I must have swallowed some seawater while I was sleeping."

She heard a snort, which she had no trouble recognizing and Trynity felt ashamed.

"Stryfe, go back and get a towel. I'll help your mother."

"You sure, gramps? I can stay and help…"

"Go get a towel," snapped Ivan Stryfe. He didn't speak again until the young man had disappeared, then he clucked his tongue as he reached down to pick up a bottle of champagne. He tipped it upside down and nothing came out. "Sea water?"

"Leave me alone." She twisted away to stare up at the moon. "That's all I will ever be now. Alone."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Her father took off his own jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "You will never be alone, pumpkin." When she didn't respond, he sighed. "I hoped you had put this behind you."

Hot tears gathered in her eyes and made her view of the moon blurry. "How can I? Father, you once told me you were sure that he was meant to walk the path of life with me! You didn't tell me that there would be a fork in the road! Why did he take a different path?" Trynity would have enjoyed a good cry, but she could hear her son returning, and she didn't want to explain herself to him.

Her father gently pulled her to her feet and put his arms around her. Putting his fingers under her chin, he tilted her face up so that she was looking at him. "Trynity, have you given up hope that the paths might one day cross again?"

Tears spilled over her eyelashes and rolled down her cheeks as she nodded. 

He wiped away the tears with his fingers. "Good! Then you can move forward, pumpkin."

How could Trynity ever explain to Ivan Stryfe how she felt? The love of her life was gone forever. She had struggled to make her marriage to Lars Nelson work, and she had grown to love him, but not as he had loved her. She had come so very close, but part of her heart was locked away forever. Lars had understood and accepted that he could not replace Duo Maxwell. He never tried. Lars had even wanted to tell Stryfe and Quynn who their real father was, but Trynity never wanted them to know. Lars was a good father and should always be remembered as so forever. If he hadn't been killed on a routine shuttle mission between Mars and Colony L12, Trynity wouldn't be sitting on this beach alone getting drunk.

Why had she returned to Earth anyway? She knew already that it was a wasted, pointless trip. And she should have stayed at a hotel, not at Seaside Lab with her son and father. The memories were too painful.

"Here's a towel, mom. Good thing we decided to look for you or you might have washed away with the tide." Stryfe – his actual name was Ivan for his grandfather, but they had always called him Dr. Stryfe as an amusing joke before shortening it to Stryfe – rubbed her wet hair with the towel. Trynity didn't really appreciate the jarring. She had to clench her teeth to keep from vomiting again.

"That's enough, Stryfe," scolded her father.

The younger man chuckled. "I thought she should suffer a little more for falling asleep and drinking in sea water." Stryfe lowered his head until his forehead was resting against hers. "Really, mom, couldn't you come up with a better story than that? I've told gramps some better ones to cover up for some of my escapades. I thought you would be more creative."

"I would have thought Drivel would have told you just how uncreative I was," she muttered.

Stryfe snickered. "There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't remind me."

Her head was spinning. "That bitch!" She looked at her father. "Father, I thought you were going to watch out for his behavior! What is this about "stories"?"

Ivan Stryfe snorted. "He's lying. Your son is a lot better behaved than you ever were. Now, let's get you off to bed to sleep off your seasickness."

The following morning when Trynity woke up, her head was pounding, and the light from the window was too bright. She was itchy from the dried sea water, so she dragged herself to her shower where she stood under the hot spray for what seemed like an hour before she regretfully left when she heard buzzing at her door. 

Pulling on a bathrobe, she checked before opening the door to Stryfe who was holding a mug of steaming coffee. Several of the other young men staying at Seaside lab to complete pilot training stood in the hall gawking, but she quickly shut the door behind her son.

"Don't they have anything better to do?" she complained as she took the mug and crossed the room to the window where she could look out over the beach. Sipping the hot liquid, she realized how much she missed the blue sky and white-capped waves crashing against the rocky shoreline in the distance. Earth really was a beautiful place that no amount of engineering could copy.

"Give them a break, mom. Maybe it's your red hair. I can't think of a single girl who has hair like yours, and I've done a lot of research."

She raised a brow at him. "Taking up your father's torch?"

"No harm in a little fun." Stryfe rubbed his hands together. "Graduation tomorrow! Then I'm off to L12 to do more research."

Trynity drained her cup. "God save the Cinq Kingdom if you're at the top of the pilot training class."

Stryfe laughed as he headed to the door where he stopped. "Gramps wanted me to remind you that your meeting at the palace is in less than an hour."

"Damn!" Trynity didn't waste anymore time dawdling at the window. She quickly dressed in a gray silk suit with a skirt of a respectable length. Too bad for the boys who followed her to the kitchen where she grabbed a bagel quickly produced along with several offers to drive her to the palace. The young pilots were like a pack of salivating wolves, and she was glad to finally be away from them as she sped away behind the wheel of her son's sports car on the road to the palace. 

This meeting was important, and she couldn't slip up. Too many people were depending on her at the Mars Colony. If she failed in this mission, she did not know where she would turn for help. Because she had an appointment, she was quickly ushered to the salon outside the king's office. Miliardo Peacecraft didn't see anyone except by appointment, so she wasn't forced to make polite conversation. Instead, she paced nervously, ignoring the curious glances from the king's secretary.

Finally, the door opened, and Colonel Benton appeared. "Dr. Nelson, the king will see you now."

"So formal," she muttered to Benton as she came even with him at the door. "This is not a good sign."

He didn't answer, but she saw by the look in his eyes that her mission was doomed. Inside she was surprised to see Heero Yuy. Relena hadn't told her that he would be going to Earth. Heero's eyes met hers briefly before he looked away. Another bad sign! Then she noticed the worst sign of all. Quatre Raberba Winner was standing by the window, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her enter. He looked far too smug. Damn, she wished she had a gun!

A throat cleared, and she tore her gaze from Quatre and turned to Benton who was standing with the king. Miliardo Peacecraft came forward to take her hands, then kiss her cheeks. As far as she was concerned, they were the greetings of a betrayer. "I haven't seen you in many years, Trynity, although Stryfe and Quynn have been frequent visitors in my home. They are very good children. You must be proud as I am sure Lars was."

She took her hands from his. "I didn't come here to socialize, Your Excellency."

Miliardo sighed. "I know that."

"Good, then I will get to the point. I have come here to ask you to send some troops to the Mars colony to maintain some control. There is a primitive lawlessness on that planet that no one should have to live amongst in this day and age." Trynity took a breath and tried not to look at Quatre, but she couldn't resist and saw that he was smirking. Bastard!

"I have been thoroughly informed of the situation on Mars," said Miliardo as he took his seat behind the desk. "But when the terra-forming began, all nations agreed to let Mars form on its own independently."

"I doubt whether you all considered the fact that bandits and…. And…" she couldn't stop from looking at Quatre, "opportunists would take over the colony. Decent people cannot live there!"

"It is true," spoke up Heero, "that L10, L11 and L12 have had an influx of refugees from the Mars colony."

"Nothing you can't handle?" Miliardo asked Heero, his governor for that quadrant of space. All three colonies were under Heero's jurisdiction, and he was answerable to the king.

"They are peaceful enough."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Trynity. "The people who chose to settle on Mars are peaceful, having lived under your rule for many years. They do not want to fight, and many do not even know how! The bandits terrorize them daily. If that were not bad enough, they are forced to pay exorbitant prices for necessities, just so some rich bastard can get richer."

"I might take offense to that, Dr. Nelson," remarked Quatre nonchalantly.

She spun to look at him. "You should! I was talking about you and the Winner Foundation!"

Quatre crossed his arms over his chest. "I have done nothing illegal."

Trynity turned back to the king. "Because of his monopoly on trade, the people have to pay ridiculous prices just to survive."

"Perhaps I should remind Dr. Nelson that the Winner Foundation was instrumental in terra-forming Mars. Without the necessary capital, Mars would still be a frozen rock."

"Without my father's research, Mars would be a frozen rock," she reminded them.

"Regardless," said Quatre with a shrug, "research is nothing without funds to back it. I believe that particular research was also funded by the Winner Foundation. How do you pay me back? With smuggling!"

Trynity gritted her teeth as she glared at him. Quatre met her glare for a moment before his blue eyes drifted lower over her body before he continued, now turning to appeal to the king. "Only authorized traders are allowed to bring goods to Mars Colony. This is standard practice until free trade can be set up. Those companies need to be assured of a market or they would not consider Mars at all. Her husband was smuggling goods onto the planet without license."

"Did your people shoot him down?" she demanded furiously, daring the voice her suspicion.

Quatre's brows raised. "There was an official inquiry, Dr. Nelson." He nodded to Heero. "Perhaps you would refresh her memory as to the findings."

Heero seemed reluctant but he had no choice but to answer. "There were malfunctions in the systems of his craft which might have been fixed had he taken proper precautions. His last safety inspection had expired several months earlier."

"See?" Quatre stared at her. "His own bungling caused his death."

Trynity spun to glare at Miliardo. "Your answer is "no?" You doom the people of Mars, what few would remain, to live under his thumb!" She turned on her heel and left the office. By the time she had exited the salon and was on her way down the corridor to the elevator to take her to the ground floor, Heero had finally caught up to her.

"Hold on, Trynity."

She stopped and waited for him to come around to face her. As far as she was concerned, he was a traitor, too. "If you aren't going to offer any help, then don't bother speaking to me. I think you said enough in the king's office."

"I couldn't lie, Trynity. Lars was taking contraband to Mars. I could have arrested him."

"You have never been to the colony on Mars! Someone had to help those poor people!" Trynity felt frustrated to the point of tears. "You all preach peace and equality, but we are equal only as far as our money will stretch. Lars and I never made a profit from those goods! We used almost all our own money to buy them and distribute them free. How can that be considered smuggling?"

"You heard Quatre, and he is right. In order for commerce to develop on Mars, something has to lure merchants, and unfortunately, the license to sell exclusively is that 'something'."

"Then they can turn people into slaves just to survive. That is what Quatre Winner has done! There are men and women who work in the mines on that planet who barely make enough to survive. He has turned it into another of his resource satellites with conditions so wretched that it is not even civilized." Trynity bit back tears as she thought of the miserable people living on the colony. "I cannot believe an enlightened man like Miliardo Peacecraft can turn a blind eye to such a thing!"

Heero was about to speak but he saw that Benton was waiting for him to return. "I still have some issues to discuss with Miliardo. I'll try to make it quick."

Not bothering to wait for him, Trynity left the palace still seething with anger. As she approached the car, she hit the button on her keys to unlock the door and roll back the top. Maybe a fast ride back to Seaside with the wind in her hair would improve her mood. But before she could key in the code to start the car, the door to the passenger side opened and she turned to see Quatre Winner slide onto the leather seat. Before she could react, he slid his arms around her and drew her to him.

"You are so hot when you are angry, Dr. Nelson." He didn't give her a chance to fight as he held her close and covered her mouth with his. There was nothing remotely arousing about the bruising kiss, and when he released her, he nipped her bottom lip so hard she could taste blood. She was stunned and dizzy from a lack of air, and she fell back weakly as Quatre leaned back against the seat on the passenger side of the car. 

"You bastard!" she finally snarled, wiping at her lip with the back of her hand.

Quatre snagged her hand and brought it to his mouth where he flicked out his tongue to lick her blood. "You are delicious, Trynity, but then I've told you that before."

She tried to slap him, but Quatre caught her wrist and held it in a grip so tight she thought he would break it.

As if he could read her mind, he raised one of his blond brows. "What would your precious patients do if you lost the use of this hand?"

"Let go of me."

"Beg me nicely, doctor, and I might."

Their eyes met, and she felt a shudder of something she identified as fear run down her spine. Trynity didn't want to show any weakness, but…

Quatre released her wrist and she quickly pulled it back, rubbing it to restore circulation. He ran a hand through his shoulder-length blond hair, then relaxed against the seat. "Are we done playing games? You know what I want and I'm getting sick of jumping over your hurdles." He put his arm behind her on the seat and she felt his fingers in her hair. "I didn't appreciate getting Miliardo Peacecraft's summons. What good did it do you?"

Trynity stared straight ahead, wondering how her life had come to this point. Who was this man sitting next to her that had the power to terrorize a planet's entire population? How is it that he could make her feel helpless? She realized that she should have seen this coming long ago when they returned from Calabria. The Quatre that had accompanied her and Lars back to Earth was not the same young man that drew pictures on the edges of his papers or wrote poetry to the women he adored. At first they had all been amused by his sudden assertive behavior. Dorothy Catalonia couldn't get enough of him and they married only a few weeks after his return. Dorothy seemed to be pleased by the man he had become although that man treated her with disdain and left her alone for long periods of time to attend to his business enterprises. Dorothy contented herself with administering to the Winner Foundation and raising their son, Malik. Trynity had even formed a friendship with Dorothy. Very often Malik spent his days with her own children while Dorothy threw herself into her charitable work. Trynity often wondered about her relationship with the often absent Quatre, but when they moved to Mars Colony, Dorothy joined her husband and they seemed to be a happy couple. 

Those first few years at Mars Colony were actually pleasant ones, with everyone working together to make something of the fledgling world. No one could have predicted what kind of life was waiting to evolve, or that mutations would ensue following the forced rapid terra-forming implemented by the aggressive engineers from the Winner Foundation. They had hoped to create another Earth, but while their expectations were partially met, Mars was teeming with life forms that were more or less hostile to humans. The colony was populated by wretched poor people who couldn't afford to leave, and fools like Trynity who were too stubborn to do so. Quatre seemed to be quite content to live there in his huge mansion, and he and Dorothy had been happy there together. When Dorothy became ill, Quatre was inconsolable in his grief as she wasted away, until she finally succumbed to her disease, one Trynity never could diagnose or treat. That was only a couple of months before Lars had been killed. 

Quatre seemed to be waiting for an answer, but she had none. No good had come of this trip. Quatre still had his stranglehold on the colony.

He withdrew his arm, then reached into a pocket inside his suit jacket, withdrawing a key card that he reached over to tuck inside her blouse. "You know the place, Trynity. I think you and Lars rented the condo in the mountains on L11 last year shortly before his unfortunate accident. I think that you and I should spend some time alone coming up with some agreement that can satisfy the both of us. We don't need Miliardo Peacecraft and Heero Yuy to meddle in our affairs, do we?"

Trynity reached inside her blouse, took the card and flicked it back at him. "Go to hell, Winner."

He put the card on the dashboard of the car. "If I do, I'm taking you with me." When he opened the car door and stepped out Trynity was relieved to see Heero approaching. Quatre waited until he came to them. "I see your little discussion with the king did not take long. Are you going to arrest me now?"

"I have no grounds to arrest you," stated Heero, and he glanced at Trynity, his brows raised to question if she was all right. 

Quatre laughed, but the sound was brittle and facetious. "I haven't done anything but steal a few kisses here and there. Hardly grounds for arrest, right my dear?" He looked at Trynity with his blond brow arched upward. When she didn't respond, he chuckled and turned back to Heero. "I believe that your wife is throwing one her patented sure to backfire galas in honor of the pilots. I regret that other obligations are going to keep me from attending."

"I doubt you were invited," muttered Trynity.

"Malik will represent the Winner Foundation," continued Quatre, ignoring her comment. "I believe I heard him making plans to dance with your lovely daughter, Trynity."

"Malik is certainly welcome," she said through gritted teeth. "I often wonder how you and Dorothy managed to create such a wonderful boy."

"I would be more than happy to show you exactly how." When Trynity didn't respond except with the disgust reflected in her eyes, Quatre chuckled and bowed. "Always a delight, Dr. Nelson. I'll look forward to seeing you back on Mars Colony." Bowing, he straightened, blew her a kiss then sauntered several feet away where his limousine was waiting. Trynity watched as one of his bodyguards opened the door for him, and Quatre glanced back at her one more time, sending another chill down her spine before disappearing into the car.

Neither she nor Heero spoke until the car had driven away. 

"If you have your gun," remarked Trynity, "you should have used it."

Heero slipped into the seat Quatre had vacated. "He was armed, and his goons were waiting for me to make a move so they could shoot me. To be honest, Trynity, I've been spending so much time with administrative duties that I'm not so sure I could take him anyway. Quatre has devoted a lot of his time to learning as many martial arts as he can. He is a dangerous man in more ways than one. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Trynity hid her throbbing wrist from him, knowing that it would be discolored. "No." 

Heero stared at her silently for a moment, and she knew he realized she was lying. But he said, "I think you have been on Mars too long. You need to get away from that hellhole. You didn't accept our offer to stay on L12 after Lars' death. Maybe now you should take a longer break before returning to Mars and spend a few weeks with us. If you don't want to do that, Relena has been complaining that she needs a vacation." Heero reached over to the dash and Trynity felt her face flaming with embarrassment as he picked up the card Quatre had left behind. Holding it up, he said, "You and her can go to L11 together without the hassles of commitments and responsibilities for a couple of weeks. She'd love that. I think you need it."

She shook her head, took the card and tossed it out of the car. "Who will look after my patients if I do not return? I have been away long enough, and I doubt the physician I asked to be on call will actually go down to the surface." She leaned across the seat and hugged Heero. "But I promise that I will stop at L12 long enough to attend that celebration Relena has planned to honor the new pilots. I am only glad that Stryfe has been assigned to L12 so that he can be with his friends. Quynn has missed him."

Heero shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. "I'll tell Relena I tried. You are just too damn stubborn, Trynity. I'm heading back to L12 today. Will you join me on the transport?"

She shook her head. "I have to stay over a few days. I have some medical supplies to purchase with what is left of my money."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help." Heero squeezed her hands. "What you need is a miracle."

"That is all I have left to believe in, isn't it?" Her brows raised. "Perhaps something will fall from the sky."

Heero didn't smile. "Stranger things have happened."


	3. Supper with emperor and a scolding on Ba...

**__**

Imperial Palace, Calabria

Shamara took a deep breath before passing through the door that led to the private residence of the emperor. She half-expected her mother to pounce on her immediately, or her father to shout her name in anger, but none of that happened. Servants were rushing about, placing food on the table, her three youngest sisters were sitting around her uncle listening to one of his stories and her mother was scolding her two younger brothers who seemed to have been fighting. Shamara's newest sister was tucked against her mother whimpering for attention. The brother closest to her age, Amyr, crowned prince of Calabria, was listening to Lord Duo talk while the later bounced another of her brothers on his shoulders. She didn't see her father, but then he was usually late for the evening meal due to the demands of his position. They would wait for his arrival before sitting at the table, and in the meantime, Shamara hoped her many siblings would find some way to distract him.

"So, you finally show up."

She turned to see Taeron approaching her and Shamara smiled at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited," he said quite proudly with a nod toward Duo.

Shamara was glad for him. She had known Taeron since they were children when Taeron and Amyr were friends. Her father had invited Taeron to share Amyr's lessons, and Lady Larya did not refuse the offer. Shamara had always assumed it was because Duo was Taeron's father although he would never admit to it, and she had never had the occasion to touch Taeron to ascertain the truth of the matter. Besides, her father strictly forbade her from meddling in that situation, so she kept her hands to herself when Taeron was around. 

"Tomorrow you receive a great honor," she remarked to the handsome young man who was as much a brother to her as Amyr.

"Yes, I am to receive my imperial sword and join the guards. I am hoping to be given the assignment of protecting my lord prince." He nodded toward Amyr who waved to them.

Shamara nodded to him, then looked at Taeron again. "I am sure my father would wish that, and I know Amyr will. Perhaps tomorrow you will be able to swear your oath to him." Only one thing would make him happier, but that was not likely to happen she thought with a sigh as she looked again at Duo.

"I'm sorry I am late." Trey entered the room and went first to his wife, pushing his two squabbling sons out of the way so that he could take her into his arms, ignoring the squirming baby she held. "I haven't seen you all day."

The two boys rushed to the table, shoving each other as they did. 

"I'm starved!" announced Duo as he followed them. When he came to Shamara, he hooked his arm around her. "Come along, princess."

Her father didn't say anything to her for most of the meal. He carried on a lengthy discussion with her mother, Duo and Apolo concerning some religious fanatics causing trouble both in the Wastelands and on the second moon where Duo was governor. Her father was a tolerant man, but he drew the line at beliefs that caused harm to innocent people. Duo assured him there was no need to worry, that they were just a doomsday cult, and Apolo agreed with them. Shamara was glad that the followers of the dark lord Camridaeus could distract her father from her problem.

Unfortunately, when that subject had been exhausted, her father brought up the one that Shamara hoped he would avoid. "You have been back a full day, Shamara, and you have not told me how your trip to Bayman was."

"She didn't come back with a husband," remarked Staefyn. Second oldest of emperor's sons, Shamara rarely saw him because he spent a lot of time in the Wastelands charming the local women. His presence at the palace was a rarity she could do without at this moment.

The elder of her three sisters, Chaela, who was less than a year younger than Amyr, giggled. "So, is it my turn to try to win the heart of Prince Dagan?"

Shamara laughed when she saw the twinkle in her sister's eyes. "Be my guest."

Trey chuckled. "Don't be so quick to pass on the young man, Shamara."

She looked at him. "Father, he would not even greet me!" He didn't need to know why.

"Indeed, and I am very insulted by that fact. I sent a message to Bayman informing them of my displeasure." Trey smiled at her. "I have been assured by King Seighen of Bayman that Dagan will be making amends for his behavior."

Shamara didn't want to believe what that meant. "Am I to return to Bayman?"

"I have already made plans for your trip." Trey nodded to Duo. "You do not mind escorting Shamara again?"

"I have nothing better to do," he muttered sarcastically as he stared at his food. Shamara knew he would rather not return to Bayman, and she certainly had no intention of going back.

"I have also decided that you need an imperial guard. Duo has responsibilities on the moon and can't be at our beck and call. So this is the last trip he will be making with you." Trey looked at Taeron. "I think you would make an excellent guard for my daughter until such time she takes a husband."

Taeron had been smiling, but that smile faded. "I…I was hoping…"

"I know what you were hoping, Taeron, but as I said, you need guard Shamara only until she is married. Then she will be Prince Dagan's responsibility."

"Prince Dagan!" Shamara clenched her fists as she looked at her father. "Are you so sure that we will be compatible?"

Trey was unmoved by her anger. Shamara began to feel for the first time that she had no control over the situation. "I couldn't be more sure. What I have heard of the young man leads me to believe the two of you were meant to be mates."

Shamara could not even think of a response. She looked to her mother for help, but Lady Arora merely shrugged. "This is not fair!" she burst out. "I don't want to be married to that spoiled, selfish Bayman dog for the rest of my life!"

"You'll probably outlast him," remarked Apolo between bites of food. "Your Guerani blood should ensure that."

"I feel so much better!" She slumped back in her chair and crossed her arms. Shamara looked for a sympathetic face, but there were none amongst them. They were all aware that she had a duty to marry Prince Dagan. Shamara wasn't as confident as her father that she could be happy in that arrangement.

Her eyes fell on Duo. "Tell my father that I can't marry him. You heard the stories on Bayman!"

"Hey, leave me out of this!" Duo didn't even look up from his plate.

"What stories?" asked Trey, his brows raised.

Shamara looked at him. "That he spends his days studying black arts and his nights with any number of his several concubines."

"Sounds like he has experience," commented Apolo. "I wouldn't complain about that, if I were you, Shamara. Might come in handy."

Arora glared at her brother, but he merely shrugged, and Shamara heard Amyr snicker and exchange a knowing glance with Staefyn. She wanted to launch her plate at both their heads.

Trey looked at Duo. "Is what my daughter says true?"

Duo looked up, clearly annoyed at being interrupted from his greatest joy. "Rumors. The prince keeps to himself, so the royal court makes up stories."

"They are not false!" cried Shamara. "Father, you cannot make me marry him. He might even be hideously deformed from his incantations."

Trey didn't respond for a few moments, and he merely sat drumming his fingers on the table, then he said, "I wonder what Prince Dagan has heard about you, Shamara."

She was taken aback. "But…but what could he possibly hear…."

"Perhaps that you are spoiled and selfish, that you are cursed with powers that he himself has witnessed."

"My powers are not evil!" she sputtered helplessly.

"I imagine he has heard how your mother transformed into a beast and murdered her own father."

"That's a lie!" Shamara gave her mother a pleading look. "Are you going to let him say such things?"

Arora shrugged. "I cannot help wagging tongues. I know the truth of the matter. Can you say the same about Dagan? You should have learned by now that what is said at court may not be the truth."

Shamara shuddered as she remembered the feelings that came to her when she had touched Dagan's hands two years ago. "He is not what he appears to be." She couldn't really explain what it was, but it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Are you?" asked Trey. "Are any of us? I suggest that you refrain from touching people with your hands if you cannot control your powers."

"That was over two years ago!" Shamara's face was flaming with embarrassment. "I didn't even get a chance to see him this time, let alone touch him."

"Have you any better control?" asked Arora with a raised brow.

Shamara couldn't lie to her. Her mother could just read her thoughts anyway and she would be in greater trouble if she did lie. "I try."

Apolo chuckled. "An honest answer, at least."

She took at deep breath and turned her most beseeching, wide-eyed look on her father. He had never been able to resist it! "Father, you must give me more time." She didn't even bat her eyes as she continued to turn her most soulful gaze on him.

Trey stared at her in silence for a moment and she was sure he was going to give in. When hadn't he? Then he said, "After tomorrow's ceremony, Taeron will swear an oath to protect you, Shamara, and afterwards, you will leave for Bayman with Duo and your new imperial guard."

Shamara wanted to throw her plate, smash her glass, and scream in frustration, but she only sighed, folded her hands in her lap and bowed her head. "Yes, father."

Somehow she would get out of this. She had no intention of being locked to Dagan of Bayman for the rest of her life.

**__**

Bayman

The clicking of boots and the rattle of swords was unnerving to Dagan as he walked the length of the antechamber of the throne room. The nobles, the guards, the dignitaries seemed to stop talking when he had appeared in the door. Their heads were bowed as he passed by, but they were watching him with morbid fascination. They didn't give a damn who his father chose as his heir as long as they were allowed to weasel and toady to that heir for favors that were undeserved. That is what they disliked about Dagan and his mother. She had spirited her son to the hills and had remained hidden for years before the king found her and dragged her back to court. Only a few months of an existence akin to a caged animal had elapsed before she had died. As Dagan grew older, he suspected poison, but he did not know yet who had been responsible.

His eyes fell upon his older, half-sister Ryana when the door to his father's private office closed behind him. A likely suspect. A very likely suspect. If King Seighen hadn't chosen Dagan as his heir, he might have perished also, but his position had insured his safety at court. Now he threw back his cloak and fell to one knee before his father who was watching him with clear annoyance.

"I answer your summons," stated Dagan through gritted teeth.

"By the gods, you have not answered my summons of your own will!" exploded the king, coming to his feet to stand over Dagan. "I sent a small armed force to bring you back to court."

"Hardly the behavior of a proper crowned prince," remarked Ryana smoothly. "Come, father, sit down. The healers say you should not exert yourself."

This was new. His father was sick? Dagan lifted his head to look into his father's eyes, but the king saw his regard and quickly turned away. Dagan sighed, then lowered his head again. He would never be trusted.

The king settled in his chair, and Ryana came behind him to massage his shoulders. "You were summoned to court seven days ago to meet your future wife."

"I have no future wife," stated Dagan. "Certainly not of your choosing."

"I will not tolerate your rebellion!" thundered King Seighen. Dagan did not flinch. He wasn't afraid of his father, but Ryana was a force to reckon with. She didn't bother to hide her smirk. "This alliance with Calabria is vital to the future of this planet. They have developed trade with the outsiders from other worlds while our own has stagnated. If you do not take Shamara as your wife, we will be left behind while Calabria grows stronger."

"We were once a strong planet," said Dagan. "We can be so once again without the help of Calabria."

"This is a dying planet!" King Seighen pounded his fist on the arm of his chair. "If you did not hide away in the caves in the hills studying nonsense, you would see how desperate we are for the help of our sister planet. We have had years of drought and famine, our natural resources are becoming depleted, and all the while Calabria has blossomed into a thriving empire. I am grateful for Emperor Trey for allowing my son to marry his beloved first-born."

"If you are so grateful, perhaps you should marry her," suggested Dagan. He expected his father to explode, but King Seighen merely sighed.

"I see you have not changed your mind. Very well, then I have no choice. I will send you to Calabria under guard. If you fail to bring Princess Shamara back to Bayman as your wife, then you are not welcome to return."

Dagan lifted his head to look at his father. He could not believe he would exile him! "You cannot do this to me! My studies are not complete…"

"I don't know what you study out there in the hills with that old wizard, but you can now consider that education to be at an end."

There was so much more for Dagan to learn. "I cannot do that!"

Seighen rose to tower over Dagan. "If your studies are so important, Dagan, then you should do as you are ordered. The sooner you bring back your wife, the sooner you can return to your other amusements." He raised a brow. "However, my advice to you is to be a little more discreet with your other amusement. The practice of taking concubines on Calabria was abolished completely several years ago. I doubt Princess Shamara will want to share you with your golden-haired toy."

"She's not a toy!" Dagan straightened and glared at his father. "I love Oxana! I want to marry her!"

"What you _want_ and what you will _do_ are two entirely different things." King Seighen walked to Dagan and they stood eye to eye for a moment before he said, "You will leave in the morning. You may decide whether you will be wearing shackles."

Dagan watched him leave his courtiers scrambling after him already begging him for money or favors. Dagan trembled in fury, and he could feel uncontrollable power bubbling inside. This was why he had to return to the hills to study. Ryana had remained behind, but now she ducked behind their father's chair. Dagan couldn't stop the force, but at least this time he was able to direct it toward the window. The stained glass groaned as it bent, then shattered outward. Dagan released his power to the evening sky, and when it was spent, he dropped weakly to his knees. The drapery around the window had been reduced to cinder and was still smoking.

"Quite the show," remarked Ryana as she settled in the chair she had been using as a shield. "You are a lot stronger now than when you almost burned down the dining hall."

His head was pounding and his body was weak. He couldn't control these powers and his father knew it. Every other generation of Bayman rulers possessed these powers, and while his father resented that he had been passed over, Dagan considered them a curse. He was feared by some people, and rejected by the rest. He would never forget the horrified look in Princess Shamara's eyes when she had taken his hands. Dagan had seen her arrive, had watched her secretly before actually meeting her. She was all that could be perfect in a female, and he thanked the gods that she would be his wife. Then they met, and when their hands clasped, Dagan couldn't stop the jolt that had run through him. At first he thought it was just the excitement of touching her, but then he had seen the emotions that she could not hide in her eyes. Dagan had been ashamed, and he had stayed from her sight so not to offend her. To this day he wasn't sure if it was a blessing or not that she had avoided him also. Regardless, Dagan was certain Princess Shamara could not accept him. 

"Cheer up, brother." Ryana was watching him.

Dagan frowned. "I wouldn't be in this mess if you had been able to marry Prince Trey."

Ryana laughed. "You would still be in this mess. I do not have your powers, Dagan. You were meant to become the next king, so our father sent me to Calabria to get rid of me."

"It's too bad you came back."

"And I was planning to help you out!" She clucked her tongue in disappointment. "You have hurt my feelings."

Dagan was able to stand now although he still felt weak. "And just how do you intend to help me? Father doesn't listen to you."

"I have no intention of interceding on your behalf. I think you should bring Princess Shamara to court. Once she is here, I doubt she will trouble you for long." The look in her eyes chilled Dagan. "I have a score to settle with Trey of Calabria and the witch Arora." 

"I want no part of your schemes."

"Regardless, I assure you that you need not worry about Shamara of Calabria. Do as father commands and leave the rest to me."

Before he could respond, she walked past him and left the room. Dagan didn't leave the room until he was certain he could move without hobbling. The antechamber had cleared once his father had left, so he didn't have to suffer curious or frightened stares. Servants were already busy cleaning up the mess in the courtyard below the window he had destroyed. 

So he had to leave tomorrow? Dagan really had no choice, so he would go without the threatened shackles, but he would go on his own terms. Dagan could take his teacher and mentor, and he would sneak Oxana aboard his ship. Princess Shamara would just have to get used to seeing her.

Dagan was allowed to leave the city, but only under armed escort and only after he was reminded that his presence was required on the ship scheduled to leave Bayman the following day. He took his personal hover transport back to the hillside home of his mentor and teacher. Both suns had already set by the time he arrived, so Master Nazzar was sleeping. Moving around to the back of the cottage to his own room, he was relieved to see Oxana sitting in a chair on the porch. 

Before he had a chance to speak, she came to him and put her arms around him. Dagan held her close, stroking her hair as he considered her complete devotion to him. He felt guilty about what he had to tell her.

"How did your meeting go with your father?" she asked as she raised her head to look at him.

Dagan didn't speak until he had sat in the chair she had vacated, and pulled her onto his lap. "I will have to do as he commands or he will make my life miserable."

She caressed his cheek with her delicate fingers. "I will always be here for you, Dagan."

"Oxana." He pulled her close and buried his face in her warm, perfumed neck. "I cannot do this! How can I marry Princess Shamara when I love you?"

"Oh, Dagan, you are so sweet." She ran her fingers through his hair and tilted back his head to kiss him. Oxana could make him forget his father's orders, and for a while she did. After a moment she stood and walked to the door, paused in the doorway and gave him an enticing look that he couldn't resist. 

He awoke the next day before the first dawn. Oxana was sleeping soundly beside him, so he carefully left the bed and after pulling on his clothes, went out of the cottage to watch the first sunrise. His life would never be the same after this day. He doubted Princess Shamara would understand him. Like everyone else she would view him as a freak to be feared.

"Quite a sight," remarked a gruff old voice.

Dagan didn't take his eyes from the sunrise. "I feel the power from the sun."

"Have you ever watched the second sun rise?" asked his master.

Dagan turned to look at him, puzzled by the question. "I have not. I have never noticed it."

"The second sun is also powerful, my young prince, although the light from the first masks its beauty. They reign together in the Calabrian-Bayman system."

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Dagan sometimes disliked the riddles his master used.

"You wield the power of the first sun, Prince Dagan, yet you take for granted the second sun. Do not underestimate any one or any thing." Master Nazzar turned to leave.

"Master!" Dagan took a step toward him. "I must leave this day."

"I know that already."

Dagan was in awe. "The gods spoke to you? Did they tell you of my obligations?"

The master snorted. "No, those unruly soldiers out front waiting for you informed me of your imminent departure."

Dagan sighed. "Master, I want you to come with me."

"I am too old to travel, and besides, this is a journey you must make alone."

"The gods?"

Dagan was deflated again when Master Nazzar answered. "No, those soldiers have orders to prevent anyone from accompanying you. I have already been warned not to pack my belongings. Don't bother waking Oxana."

Dagan scratched his head and put his hands on his hips. "Did the gods say anything to you about my journey?"

"Well, those young soldiers told me you are leaving to bring back a bride."

"They are hardly gods, Master Nazzar! I was hoping you would have some advice for me from them."

"Only the advice of an old man, Prince Dagan. For the sake of this planet, you should marry Princess Shamara and bring her back here. Only then can you release the demons inside of you."

"I have no demons inside of me."

Master Nazzar didn't respond although his dark gaze was rather disquieting.

"Dagan?" Oxana was in the doorway, the rays of the first sun falling on her. How could he ever leave her? Yet he had no choice. "Are you leaving?"

"I must." He turned back to Master Nazzar. "Can Oxana stay here while I am gone?"

"She will do as she wishes to do," he remarked cryptically. "And you will do what you must. And in doing so, you will be greatly rewarded."

"Let me guess, the soldiers also told you of my father's threats."

Master Nazzar chuckled.

Dagan blew out a heavy sigh. "I will send word when I return."

"I will know when you return, Dagan. The gods will tell me."

"They haven't been very informative up to now," muttered Dagan as he returned to Oxana. "I must go."

She kissed him. "Have a safe journey, Dagan."

"No one can ever replace you, Oxana." He brushed back the shimmering blonde hair from her face, then kissed her once more before turning to leave.

Much later, after he had listening to another round of his father's threats, Dagan boarded the ship that would blast him into space. As he was buckling into his seat, he glanced out the window of the craft and was surprised to see the second sun peek up from the horizon. Dagan stared at it speechlessly as it rose, casting out its first rays over a land already bathed in the light of the first sun.

Suddenly he saw the vision of a beautiful woman with long dark hair and large eyes the color of forest leaves, golden flecks gleaming in their depths. 

__

"So you are finally coming! You have wasted too much time already, Dagan."

He was frightened, but he could not take his eyes from her.

__

"Leave him alone, my love, he has quite an adventure ahead of him."

The voice was not unfamiliar to him, but he didn't know who was speaking.

The gods! The gods were speaking to him!

But they said no more and the woman faded from his view.

"We are ready to lift off, your highness," stated a soldier. "Ground control has reported a disturbance in space, but nothing too dangerous to delay our departure. It may be nothing more than a micro-meteor shower and our shields are at maximum strength."

Dagan was convinced the gods were sending him a sign. As the ship began its ascent, Dagan laid his head back and closed his eyes. He had a great adventure ahead of him. 

The gods had told him so.


	4. The will of the gods

**__**

Calabrian-Bayman space

"There is a craft approaching from the direction of Bayman, my lord."

Shamara watched as Duo crossed the bridge of the small craft to observe the viewing screen where they could see a shuttle in the distance. "Send a message and ask their intent. I was not informed a Bayman ship would be entering our space."

"We are close to entering theirs," pointed out Shamara. She was afraid there would be a battle in space, and although she trusted no one more than Duo Maxwell in the piloting of the one warbird stowed on board, she was more than a little anxious to be left on the transport with an inexperienced pilot. 

Taeron's heart was in the right place, but he had never left Calabrian space. This was his first trip beyond the moons. Shamara knew why her father had chosen Taeron to be her imperial guard, and it certainly had nothing to do with watching out for her safety. Shamara could take care of herself. If Taeron was her guard and Duo was escorting her, then Taeron and Duo would be forced to spend time together. She wondered if Duo realized it also. He hadn't said more than a few words to Taeron since the ceremonies of the previous day when Taeron received his sword of imperial alloy from the emperor himself. Duo's congratulations to the young man weren't any more heartfelt than those he received from any other man. Shamara didn't know how Taeron couldn't feel resentment towards Duo. But having touched Duo many times, Shamara did know that Duo truly didn't believe Taeron was his son. Perhaps her father's conniving would bring them together. 

"There is no response to our signal," Taeron told Duo. "I'm not sure the message was received. We are getting static in return."

Duo turned to the control panel and pressed some buttons. "They aren't running a jamming signal, but something is interfering." He looked at Shamara. "You should buckle into a seat. I don't like this one bit."

Shamara did as he suggested. "I sense some kind of power out there." Her nerves were tingling, and it was not from any perceivable danger. 

"Is it from that ship?" asked Duo. He respected her power to sense, even trusted it more than the ship scanners.

"I …I don't think so."

"Perhaps there is a micro meteor shower in this sector," commented Taeron.

"Communications can usually be filtered through them." Duo was watching his scanning screen intently. "What are you feeling Shamara?"

"The power is growing." Shamara looked at the viewing screen. She saw the Bayman craft approaching. "It bears the royal insignia."

Duo chuckled. "I think the prince is coming to meet you."

Shamara didn't want to see Prince Dagan so soon! She hadn't come up with a plan to keep from marrying him. If Dagan was now coming to greet her, he was likely under some duress and wouldn't listen to her pleas. Only the gods could help her now!

She didn't have any more time to think about her dilemma as some unseen force shot through her, startling but not hurting, and then she was amazed to see a strange light appear near the Bayman craft. "Duo, what…what is that? Are they being attacked?"

The light grew, and she felt the thrusters lurch the transport forward. "We have to protect them," said Duo as he increased their speed toward the craft. "There will be hell to pay if Prince Dagan is on that ship and it is attacked in our space."

Shamara knew he was right. After her miserable visit and her father's reprimands to the ambassador to Bayman, they would be blamed if some disaster befell the heir of Bayman. Although she didn't want to marry Dagan, Shamara certainly didn't want him harmed. The light was growing in size, and the power she sensed was building in intensity. "Whatever it is," she told Duo, "I don't think we can stop it."

"They will have to protect themselves," said Taeron. "I can't raise any communication with them although I have tried every frequency in the spectrum."

Shamara watched the light grow and grow, then begin to spin into a vortex. The Bayman ship was no longer on a course toward them, but was being pulled back toward the vortex. "Lord Duo, what is happening?"

Duo was still staring at his scanning screen, but now he was swearing under his breath. "Whatever that is, it is taking us with the Bayman ship." His fingers were flying over the control panel, but suddenly he stopped, his hand frozen.

"What is it?" asked Taeron, trying to keep his own panic in check.

Shamara looked at Duo. She sensed a dread from deep within him. Now he spun around to look at the viewing screen, and she followed his gaze. The vortex had burst into a kaleidoscope of color and the Bayman ship had disappeared into the middle. 

Their own transport was drawing closer, and Shamara realized what they were witnessing. "The gods," she gasped.

"That is not the gods," snapped Duo. He spun back to the control panel. "It is a spatial disturbance, a wormhole. We can't let the ship get drawn in."

"My lord," spoke up Taeron. "We studied this in our space flight training. The recommended course of action is to cut all power or the craft will be inoperable on the other side."

"He's right," said Shamara. "Mama said their ship was damaged after going through because they tried to fight the gravitational pull. We cannot fight the will of the gods."

Duo was changing the course of the ship to attempt an escape. "We have no idea where it will take us."

"Lord Duo, it's not helping!" exclaimed Taeron as they were pulled even closer to the vortex. "Cut the power!"

"No!" He looked at Shamara, and she saw the pain in his eyes. She didn't want to read his thoughts, but she had no choice.

__

"I can't go back there."

He was afraid of what he would find if he returned to his own people. There was no assurance that they would be sent to his system, but she knew that he feared that above all. Understanding his turmoil, Shamara reached out a hand to him. "Touch me," she said softly. She could give him strength.

Duo reached out his hand to her, but before they touched, the ship lurched and he was thrown against the control panel where he hit his head and crumpled to the floor. Shamara saw blood pouring from a gash on his forehead, and she started to unbuckle, but Taeron quickly crossed to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Princess, I am to protect you. Please stay in your seat. I will take care of my…my lord."

But Taeron didn't have chance because the controls began to crackle and the light from inside the craft blacked out, leaving them in the strange light from the vortex. Shamara grabbed Taeron's hand and held tight, feeling his fear, first for the man lying unconscious on the floor, then for her, and lastly for himself. She sensed the injustice he felt at never getting a chance to prove himself to Duo. Taeron was certain he was going to die.

_"The gods will protect us, Taeron."_

"Thank you, princess. But I should be protecting you." Getting control of himself, he looked at her as he buckled himself in the seat beside hers. Although she sensed his desire to go to Duo, he knew that if something were to happen to him, no one would be left to protect her.

The craft was hurtled for several minutes uncontrollably through space, and as it picked up speed, Shamara began to feel fear of her own. Finally when the light died and they were in near darkness, still spinning out of control, she heard Duo groan. She turned her head to see him forcing himself to his feet. Were it not for his almost superhuman strength, he would not be able to move at all as the force of their speed kept Shamara pinned to her seat as well as Taeron to his.

The side of Duo's face was covered with blood that he wiped away so that he could see. "The controls are shot to hell. I can't stop the ship."

"Can you make it to a seat?" asked Taeron fearfully. "If we crash…"

"Hey, if we crash at this speed, me being in a seat isn't going to keep me from being turned into dog meat."

Shamara watched the screen as they spun around and around, part of her hoping to see the craft from Bayman, but it was no where in sight. She couldn't imagine what could possibly stop them from sure doom, smashing into a comet or asteroid or even a planet. They could spin forever. Her stomach was starting to feel queasy, but she could see that Taeron and Duo were hardly affected. She had had some training in space procedures, but certainly not the training an imperial guard did. If this didn't stop soon, she was going to empty her stomach. Her head felt like a lead weight.

Duo watched as Shamara's head began to nod weakly, then her chin drop to her chest as she lost consciousness. Damn, there was nothing he could do, and again he had no one to blame but himself. Taeron had been right, and Duo knew he should have cut the power, but he had been too overcome with a fear of the unknown. He should have realized the odds were against the wormhole opening back to the same part of space he had left behind seventeen years ago. Now they would likely die because of him.

"My lord, look!"

Duo focused on a flashing light on the control panel. "It's an intruder alert."

"Perhaps the Bayman ship made it through without incident," said Taeron. "They could help us with a tractor beam."

"If Dagan wants to marry Princess Shamara they could help us," said Duo. "Then again, if he doesn't, he could be rid of her without any blame."

The light on the control panel was becoming erratic, indicating that the approaching object was close, but Duo couldn't see it on the viewing screen. He was beginning to feel light headed as the transport continued to roll around and around. It was difficult to focus on the screen. He closed his eyes and tried to recapture his equilibrium.

"My lord! What is that beast?"

Duo's eyes popped open and his heart did a flip. "By the gods, it is a gundam!" Not just any gundam, but his own gundam. This could not be happening! As he watched the wings of the Deathscythe pop open, Duo was certain that he was having another dream from which Shamara would awaken him. 

The communication panel was beeping, but he could not reach it and he dared not leave his seat again.But Taeron could, and he quickly unbuckled and lurched toward the panel to push the button to open the communication line.

"Unidentified craft," they heard a feminine voice say. "You are on a direct course to Cinq Kingdom Colony L12. Please reset your course."

Taeron turned to Duo, his brows raised. Of course, the young man didn't understand. Duo explained the message to him in Calabrian, then said, "Just repeat what I tell you. Sound for sound, Taeron: We are unable to control the craft. Our systems are down."

He listened as Taeron stumbled over the pronunciation and he hoped Taeron could be understood. There was a moment's delay before the woman piloting the gundam responded. "I have to stop your craft before it causes damage to the colony. Please secure your passengers."

Duo ordered Taeron to sit again, and once he was buckled in tightly, they both sat back to wait. The gundam blasted ahead then turned back in their path. Duo gripped the arms of his chair, then glanced at Taeron to see that he was clearly afraid. 

"We will be all right, Taeron."

Taeron's eyes met his. "I will not make you ashamed of me, my lord."

Duo reached out to put his hand on Taeron's shoulder. "I could not be ashamed of you, Taeron."

His hand was jarred off when the ship made contact with the gundam. He could hear metal twisting and hoped that the containment field around the bridge would hold or they would be sucked into space. After what seemed like hours of terrifying noise, the ship came to a stop.

"We are still alive," said Taeron with awe.

Duo unbuckled and went to Shamara. She was still unconscious, and her pulse was strong. He then went to the communicator that was flashing.

"Is everyone all right in there?" asked the woman in the gundam.

"We have minor injuries," he told her.

"You speak our language! Super!"

"Is there any damage to your gundam?" Duo couldn't help but feel concern for Deathscythe.

"This piece of junk? I don't think anything could harm this tough old bird." Deathscythe was pretty old. He should be surprised it was still in use. "I'm taking your craft into Cinq Kingdom Colony L12. You will have to be quarantined until the medics are sure you aren't carrying any kind of diseases. How many are in your party?"

"There are three on this ship. Did another ship pass by?"

"I didn't see another ship on my scan, but I just came on patrol. Was there another in your group?"

"The other ship wasn't with us. They were coming out to meet us when they were drawn into the wormhole."

"There is no sign of the ship on my scanning log or in the log of the patrol I relieved," she told Duo. "But he's a lazy jerk, so he probably wasn't doing his job. If I hadn't relieved him, your ship would probably be lodged in the officer's commissary by now."

Duo chuckled. "I was a little hungry."

She laughed in response then said, "Sit back and relax. We'll be docking in a few minutes."

The communication closed and he guessed she was relaying information to the colony about their visitors. Duo looked at Taeron. "These are my people. I think we will be safe."

"Your people?" Taeron seemed worried. "Will you…will you be…be…"

Duo realized what was bothering the young man. "I will not be staying among them, Taeron. I have responsibilities for Calabria."

Taeron couldn't hold his sigh of relief.

Duo closed his eyes and rubbed them between his forefinger and thumb. Taeron needed him, but Duo didn't want to be needed by anyone. What could he offer Taeron? Worse, what would Larya expect of him if he accepted Taeron as his son? It wouldn't hurt to call Taeron son as long as Larya didn't make any demands on him. Maybe taking Taeron into his lonely life would fill a void. Taeron would never shame his house, of that he was quite certain. He had been the top imperial cadet, and by right, Taeron should have received his sword from the hands of his father and become Amyr's imperial guard. Instead, Trey had presented it to him and now the young man was watching over Shamara like a chaperone. When Duo returned to Calabria, he had every intention of chewing out Trey for his bad judgment.

The ship was hauled into the docking bay, and once it had been de-pressurized, Duo left his seat, unbuckled Shamara and lifted her. She moaned softly, so he knew she was probably only feeling some space sickness. Taeron popped the hatch to the ship, then stepped back as what appeared to be creatures in white protective suits came to them. Duo translated for Taeron, telling him that they were as worried about the health of the Calabrians as they were for the well being of the inhabitants of the colony. 

They were escorted to a sealed chamber, and then several scans were passed over them for what seemed like hours. After a few moments, Shamara regained consciousness and huddled close to Duo, obviously afraid.

"Don't worry," he told her. "These are your grandmother's people. I might even know someone."

She looked up at him. "These are the people who know my father as Trowa Barton?"

"They will help us to return to Calabria."

"What has become of Prince Dagan?"

"I don't know." Duo wondered what was going to happen if Dagan did not return to Bayman. He wouldn't be surprised to return to a war. "Perhaps he wasn't on that ship."

"He was," murmured Shamara. "I felt his essence."

Before Duo could question her further, the door to the chamber opened, and a young woman wearing a red flight suit stepped inside. The suit fit so snugly to her form that Duo felt uncomfortable and Taeron was gawking in shock. She was a pretty young woman with orange-brown hair and large blue eyes. By the look on her face, she was very used to being in control. She seemed familiar, but she was too young for him to have ever met her.

"The doctors say you can leave. After they have taken care of your injuries, I will escort you to the security offices where they will question you." She came closer, looking intently at Duo. "I've seen you some place before."

He raised a brow. So she had the same feeling? "Were you piloting that gundam?" he asked curiously. Her voice was also familiar.

She smiled and held out her hand. "Now I know! Your face is in the logs I studied when I began piloting it. You must be Duo Maxwell."

Duo reached out to shake her hand. "You probably know everything about me."

"Not really. Most of your files were erased. I accessed a history of my gundam and read about you." She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, the lost lamb has returned. A lot of people will be surprised to see you."

A man wearing a lab coat appeared. "Captain Nelson, are you finished? They should be taken to the infirmary."

She stepped aside, and Duo left the chamber holding Shamara close. He didn't need her powers to sense she was afraid of the unknown and still feeling disoriented by their trip through the wormhole. 

Captain Nelson glanced at Taeron with more than a little interest. "Now there's a fine specimen," she commented. "I wouldn't mind doing a little experimenting on him. What is your name?"

Duo bit his lip to keep from laughing. "His name is Taeron. He doesn't speak your language. He is… he's…well, he is my son."

Shamara glanced up at him. "What did you just tell them?"

She knew exactly what he had said, having learned their language, but he repeated it in Calabrian anyway. 

"My lord!" Taeron looked ready to explode with joy.

Duo looked away, already regretting saying it. "I'll tie the two of you to me, that way they won't separate us."

Shamara nodded. "I understand." She looked at Captain Nelson. "I am Lord Duo's concubine."

"What the hell!" Duo could not believe she had said it, and speaking language Captain Nelson understood.

She blinked, then looked at Duo. "Whatever works for you," she remarked with a wink.

Duo glared at Shamara. "What did you say that for?" he whispered furiously.

"You said…"

"Never mind!" he snapped as they came to what appeared to be a medical facility. "Don't make up any more stories."

"I think she is clever," said Taeron. "If they believe she belongs to you, they will not bother her unless they wish to risk crossing blades with you, my lord."

"This isn't Calabria," Duo reminded him. "Women don't need that kind of protection and we are the only ones walking around with blades."

"I would rather have that kind of protection," said Shamara as she huddled closer to Duo.

Captain Nelson disappeared while they were cared for in the infirmary. Duo received laser sutures for his head wound, then had to convince Taeron to put away his sword to allow the doctors and nurses to check the princess for any injuries. Neither enjoyed being touched by strangers, but they allowed it only because Duo insisted. When the examination had concluded, Captain Nelson returned, but this time she was dressed in a dark uniform that was much less revealing. Although she wore pants and a jacket, she received quite a few double takes from the men that passed. Taeron didn't seem at all interested in the attractive young woman.

"I am to escort you straight to the governor's office," she told Duo with a smile. "You look a lot better cleaned up."

Shamara nudged her way between them. "Lord Duo belongs to me."

Duo snorted with laughter then bit his lip to keep from guffawing. There was a twinkle in Shamara's eyes when he looked at her, and Taeron's lips were twitching with a suppressed smile. Maybe the boy had a sense of humor.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Captain Nelson spoke again. "So, you are from Calabria? I've heard some tales about that planet. Not many have seen it, and yet you have made your life there."

"I didn't have much choice in the matter," pointed out Duo. "But my life on Calabria has been good. I have no reason to complain." Glancing at Shamara, he knew that was true.

As they walked, many people turned to stare at them. Duo realized they were strangely dressed, but aside from that, they didn't look any differently from any of them. Shamara stayed close to Duo while Taeron looked around curiously. Duo suspected that he was planning defense and escape routes in case they were attacked. 

"How far away from L10 are we?" Duo finally asked the pretty young pilot. What he really wanted to ask was where he might find Trynity Stryfe, but he wasn't sure if he should seek her out after all this time. His heart told him otherwise, but his head controlled his actions these days. 

She looked at him. "About a week's distance between here and there. L11 is between, and most people stop at L11 for a layover before continuing. L11 is a nice vacation spot with plenty of resorts. I'm going there for my first leave." She rubbed her hands together. "I have plans to hit the beach."

"Is L10 still a research colony?" Was Trynity there?

She shrugged. "I suppose so, but now that the wormhole has opened up, I imagine all those brainiacs will be running here to investigate."

Was she one of those brainiacs? He couldn't imagine her not wanting to study the wormhole, so Trynity might already be planning to come to this colony. Duo wasn't sure what his next approach should be, and he turned his scrutiny on the young woman again. Where had he seen her before? Then he noticed the name stitched on her uniform. "Captain Nelson, I once knew a Lars Nelson. Are you related to him? He was a pilot like you, but of the gundam Epyon."

Captain Nelson turned to look at him. "You knew my father?"

"Your father?" Duo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Lars is your father?"

He noticed a look of pain in her eyes before she looked away, and her long lashes batted away at the tears that made her deep bluish-green eyes shimmer. "Was. My father is dead."

"I'm sorry to hear that." The girl was obviously choked up about him. Duo had a hard time picturing skirt-chaser Lars Nelson raising a daughter, especially not the responsible young woman escorting them now. 

They came to a light-rail stop and after she had a short exchange with the guards, they boarded a comfortable car that soon sped away from the colony military base. Duo watched the scenery passing by, marveling about the technology he had once taken for granted, and he noticed that Taeron and Shamara were whispering to each other about the sights that kept them wide-eyed. 

After he had seen enough, Duo turned his attention back to Captain Nelson. He had thought there was something familiar about her face, and now he knew why. So she was Lars' daughter! She didn't look much like Lars. Who did she look like? Her mother? What foolish woman had ended up with him? As he stared at her, the answer started to come slowly to him. The arch of her brows, the shape of her eyes and the curve of her lips were all features imprinted in his memories forever. 

Pain shoot straight through him so quickly that he found it difficult to breathe.

Shamara sensed his mood change and looked quickly at him. "What is wrong, my lord?"

He shook his head at Shamara, then looked back at young Captain Nelson. "Your…your mother…she wouldn't be…Trynity Stryfe?"

She smiled at him. "Did you know my mother, too?"

Duo felt so sick inside that he couldn't answer.

Captain Nelson went on. "My mom doesn't talk much about her life before she married Pops. I don't think she was very happy, and Gramps told us not to nag her about it. I'd be interested in anything you can tell me about her." 

He didn't have a chance to tell her that he didn't have anything to tell her because the car came to a stop before a huge, modern residence. When she stepped out, guards demanding some documentation immediately confronted her. 

As she dealt with them, Duo didn't know what he should feel. He had left Trynity and not returned, so he had no right to feel betrayed. Then why did his heart feel like it had been ripped in half? 

She beckoned them out of the car. "All clear. They are expecting us." 

"Where are we?" Duo asked. He could see that Shamara was consumed with concern for him, but Duo wouldn't ask her for help, no matter how bad the pain became.

"Governor's residence," she informed him. "You are guests of the Cinq Kingdom as ambassadors from Calabria."

As they walked up the steps to the residence, Duo explained their position to Shamara and Taeron. Hearing that they were honored guests had little effect on Taeron; he still walked close to the princess he had given an oath to guard. Duo felt even more depressed as he looked from Taeron to Captain Nelson, Trynity's daughter. She was as much proof as Duo needed that Taeron could not be his son. He had wanted to believe, maybe as much for his sake as Taeron's, that Larya had not lied. Now his carefully constructed world was coming apart, and he had to act as if he weren't suffering while keeping Shamara and Taeron out of trouble.

Servants opened the door, and as they entered, Duo could see that they were arriving at a bad time. Decorators were rushing about, carpenters were busy, and workmen and women were busy scrubbing the huge reception hall that opened to what appeared to be a ballroom.

A young man left a group of workers, and Duo saw by the tag on his pilot's uniform that he was undoubtedly the son of Heero Yuy. "Is this them?" he asked with a brief glance at the visitors. 

"Duh! What do you think? They are wearing the newest thing from L11? Where are your parents, Chaz?"

"Upstairs. Mother had a freak out over the flowers that arrived today, so father suggested she get away from the preparations for a while."

"Something going on?" asked Duo curiously as he looked around.

The young man held out his hand and Duo took it. "My name is Chaz Yuy. My father is the governor. I guess you already know him and my mother. They are both waiting upstairs. Father would go through the whole welcome to our solar system speech, but he thought you'd want some time to adjust before he did his Cinq Kingdom routine."

If Duo weren't still in a daze over discovering the existence of Trynity's daughter, he might actually enjoy talking to Heero and Relena's son. As it was, he really wanted to find somewhere to lay down…and die.

"Relena is giving a formal ball to celebrate the arrival of new pilots from Earth. She's been waiting months for Chaz to graduate…"

"We all can't be as smart as you, Quynn, to get out of that rat hole academy early." Chaz turned and held out his arm toward a lift that would take them upwards in the several stories high residence. "Shall we? Our private residence is in the penthouse suite, which is above the main governmental offices for this sector of Cinq Kingdom Space Territories."

Nobody spoke as the lift carried the group swiftly upwards, and when it came to a stop, Chaz keyed in a security code that opened the doors to an elegant foyer. Chaz then led them to a salon where he left them for a few moments. Duo tried to keep his eyes from returning to Quynn Nelson, but something drove him to cause himself more pain. She was a softer version of her mother, her hair, now in a loose braid, was not nearly as curly and bright, and her eyes were blue, not hazel. Sensing his scrutiny, she turned her head to smile at him, but before she could speak, the door opened.

"Oh my God! It is true!"

Relena stood in the doorway, her eyes wide with disbelief. Heero came from behind her, and Duo was surprised that other than the obvious physical changes that age and maturity brought, Heero didn't seem all that different. While Relena remained rooted to the spot in shock, Heero came to Duo and took his hand first and clasped it in a warm welcome. There was a smile on his lips as he tilted his head up to look him in the eye. 

"What the hell have you been eating? You must have grown a foot!"

Duo shifted uncomfortably, aware that Relena hadn't welcomed him. "You don't want to know what I've been eating."

"I think you're bigger than Lars was," chuckled Heero. "Too bad we can't have a rematch between the black and red knight."

"Too bad," agreed Duo. They didn't know the half.

Quynn came to him and before Duo could react, she tucked herself under his arm. "I guess he is a little bigger than Pops was."

Heero and Relena exchanged a pained glance, and Duo stiffened. He was saved the awkward task of disengaging himself from the young woman when Shamara stepped forward, her eyes aglow with outrage. Seeing her, Quynn moved quickly away, and Shamara fitted herself against Duo. He felt relieved.

Heero then looked at his wife. "Get over here and welcome our guests."

"Guests? Since when is the governor's residence a refuge for space riffraff?"

Heero gave Duo an apologetic smile. "She hasn't changed much, has she?"

Quynn laughed. "Come on Chaz. Your mom is on a rampage, and I'm off duty. Let's get something to eat while your mother lays into someone else for a change."

"Good plan. See you later, mom."

Relena took a step toward him. "Just a minute, young man! I told you…"

They disappeared out the door before she could complete her sentence. 

When the two young people left, she turned back, and with a sigh, Duo said, "Let me explain."

"Explain what?" demanded Relena, her voice rising, her cheeks red with anger. "Where are you going to start? Back when you hopped into that escape pod?"

Duo felt such a strong wave of guilt and regret that his stomach knotted and he swayed. Shamara slipped her arm around his waist and placed her hand on his chest. The pain quickly subsided, but Shamara shuddered as she accepted some into her own body. He would have to be more careful with her. "I want to start with my companions. This young woman is Trey's daughter, Shamara."

"I am his concubine," she told them with a proud lift to her chin.

"Trey's daughter is your concubine?" Relena was shocked, and Heero's brows raised.

"No!" Duo glared at Shamara until she lowered her head. This explanation should be easy but she was messing it up. He looked back to Heero. "Shamara thought she would be safer if she were identified as my concubine."

Shamara raised her head. "In truth, I am not exactly sure what a concubine is, but I know that the men of a house were once responsible for protection of their concubines."

Although a slight smile danced on Heero's lips, he nodded to Taeron. "And the young man?"

"He is my imperial guard," Shamara announced.

Duo sighed. "He is also my son, Taeron." He thought claiming Taeron as his son might make him feel better about discovering that Trynity had children. It didn't. 

"So!" Relena came forward, her hands on her hips. "You think you can march in here like nothing happened?"

"I didn't really march in here," Duo reminded her. "I was escorting Shamara to Bayman so that she could marry Prince Dagan when that damn wormhole opened up."

"So you didn't want to return?" Relena was glaring at him.

"Relena, you are still a bitch," snapped Duo. He didn't need this aggravation now.

Heero laughed and put his arm around Duo's shoulders. "Come in and sit down. Relena, maybe you should show Shamara and Taeron to their rooms. I think they will be our guests for a while until their ship is repaired."

"Thank you," said Duo.

Although she seemed reluctant to leave, Relena caught an imposing stare from her husband, so she did not argue.

"I will stay with Princess Shamara," he heard Taeron state as Relena lead them out.

"That is ridiculous," said Relena in broken Calabrian. At least she remembered the language.

"I am her imperial guard."

The rest of their argument was lost as they disappeared around a corner, but Duo knew that Taeron would get his way. 

"Can I get you something to drink?" asked Heero as Duo settled on a comfortable sofa.

"Water," he said. 

Heero poured water from a pitcher set on a side table, then handed it to Duo who quickly drained it. There was a moment of silence before Heero spoke again. "You met Quynn."

Duo closed his eyes and rubbed them with his fingers. "You were right, Heero. She must have gone right into his arms."

Heero shrugged. "Was Trynity supposed to sit at L10 for the rest of her life waiting for the wormhole to open? Would you be happier if you found her a miserable wreck?"

Duo couldn't answer that question, probably because _he_ was a miserable wreck. 

"How is Trey?" asked Heero, changing the subject.

"Trey has fulfilled every promise he has made to his people. There is peace and prosperity on Calabria, and he has expanded the contacts of his empire to other regions of space. Although the Wastelands are a relic of the past, and Calabria has become a fruitful planet, none of his success has come without a price. But many of the dissenters have settled on the moons, and I have been given the task of keeping the zenoites that have settled on the second moon from revolting yet again." Although there hadn't been an armed insurrection in several years, Duo knew that those that did not wish to abide by the changes Trey had made schemed incessantly.

"And how are Arora and Apolo?"

"Apolo hasn't changed. He is still the gods' gift to women. As for Arora, she is busy with her children, all seven of them."

"Seven!" Heero chuckled. "I cannot even handle the two in my own home. Relena has been a competent enough parent."

"I heard that!" Relena returned and glared at her husband. "I think you can say I am a bit more than competent."

Heero pulled her down next to him on the sofa. "Trey has seven children," he told her.

"I am not surprised," she sniffed. "He didn't have anything else on his mind except the making of one." She looked at Duo. "Shamara tells me you have been unhappy. Well, it serves you right!"

"She didn't say any such thing to you!" Duo couldn't believe Shamara would betray his confidence.

Relena smiled. "Just a guess. Anyway, I hope you have been _damn_ miserable. I was with Trynity when she got your note. Really, Duo, couldn't you have recorded a message? You misspelled several words."

"I'm not taking this crap from you." Duo started to get up, but Heero grabbed his arm.

"Don't go."

"I'm sorry, Heero, but I am tired. I feel like I was on a roller coaster for hours, my head is throbbing, and I have just gone through the terror of thinking that not only was I going to die, but Shamara and Taeron were going to die as well. Shamara is like my daughter. I was more afraid for her than myself."

"I understand." Heero stood with Duo. "I'll show you to your room."

"I think I had better stay with Shamara and Taeron."

"We aren't on Calabria," Relena reminded him tartly. "They don't have anything to fear. This is the governor's residence. It is well protected."

"I still feel that we should stay together. They might be frightened." Duo would feel more comfortable with them, and not necessarily for their sake.

Heero walked him to the room Relena had directed them to, and at the door he hugged Duo. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again."

Duo didn't return the hug. He didn't feel as though he belonged here.

Heero put a hand on his shoulder. "I notice that you didn't ask about Trynity. Don't think she has forgotten you."

"Maybe we can talk tomorrow. I need some rest right now." He didn't want to think about Trynity. The pain was becoming unbearable.

"Your things will be brought here. I suggest that you do get a lot of rest because Relena is throwing one of her events tomorrow, so we're going to need to be prepared for anything. I'm sure she's thinking your arrival is an omen."

Duo went through the door and found Shamara and Taeron pacing anxiously, but they stopped, visibly relieved when they saw him. Fortunately the suite was large enough to accommodate them all. A cot had already been delivered for Taeron to sleep on although he seemed to view it as an extravagance. He had been prepared to sleep on the floor at the foot of Shamara's bed.

But Shamara insisted that Duo lay down on the bed, and although Duo wanted to sleep on the small couch nearby, he did end up lying on the bed. When he closed his eyes, he saw Quynn Nelson's face. Trynity's daughter. Lars' daughter. His mind conjured images of Trynity and Lars together.

He was unable to stop his groan, and Shamara came quickly to him, putting her hands on his cheeks. "Let me take the pain, Duo."

"I'll get through this on my own," he insisted, not opening his eyes. "I don't want you to be harmed. I know what this can do to you. Your powers aren't as strong as Apolo's."

"I would gladly suffer any pain for you," she said softly. "You do not deserve this."

Duo felt another hand touch him and he opened his eyes to see Taeron looking at him with concern. "What can I do to help you, my lord?"

At that moment, Duo wished Taeron were his son. "Nothing, Taeron. Watch out for Shamara. I may not be much help while we are here."

"I will watch out for you, too, my lord."

Duo closed his eyes again, but this time he saw the grassy plains of the Calabrian moon where he lived. "I asked you not to do that," he murmured.

Shamara pressed her lips to his forehead. "I am disobedient."

"Thank you," he breathed before he drifted off to a peaceful Guerani induced sleep.


	5. Trynity's past returns

****

Cinq Kingdom Territory space

"We are going to arrive late. The captain has stopped the shuttle."

Trynity looked up from her laptop computer as Stryfe settled in the seat beside her. "What is the problem?"

"There is a disturbance of unknown origin in the space ahead only a few sectors from L12."

She raised a brow. "Would that be near the Mars colony?"

"Yes, in the same sector."

Trynity looked at her screen for a few moments longer, but she couldn't concentrate on the reports blurring before her eyes. Although she had made the choice to become a medical doctor, she couldn't resist a scientific puzzle. "I'm going to speak to the captain." She shut her computer and stood.

"Don't bother him. He has his hands full. Apparently the disturbance has a dangerous gravitational pull even this far away."

Trynity ignored her son who grumbled with exasperation as she moved past him. She walked down the aisle, and when the flight attendant tried to stop her, she pushed the flustered young woman out of her way and entered the cockpit of the shuttle that ran between L11 and L12. 

"What seems to be the problem, Captain?"

The older man turned to look at her, annoyed at the interruption until he recognized her. "Dr. Nelson, I was unaware that you were on the shuttle."

She turned her attention to his scanners, and he moved aside so that she could operate them. "Is it a meteor field?" she asked as her fingers flew over the keys.

"No, it is something very different. If I hadn't been running this shuttle for several years and know this space like the back of my hand, I'd say a star collapsed and is creating the gravitational pull."

"There could be a number of reasons for the shift in gravity. We still don't fully understand space yet, despite our best efforts to conquer it." She checked the routine barrage of scans he had run, then ran a few of her own. When she ran the last she could think of, she was amazed and almost struck speechless by her finding.

The shuttle captain looked over her shoulder. "Looks like you hit the nail on the head, doctor."

"I don't believe it! A wormhole?" But Trynity recognized the same readings she had taken many years ago in what seemed like another lifetime, and in comparison, they matched the current readings.

The captain had gone to another screen, and he now commented, "I am receiving a report of a wormhole opening yesterday between L12 and Mars. It has opened and closed twice since then."

Trynity didn't dare hope the wormhole opened to the Calabrian system. The odds were very much against such a coincidence. Did she want that to happen? Her heart was hammering so quickly that she felt faint. "Is there any other news regarding the wormhole?"

"Not anything reported to the public, but I can see there is more information that requires a security clearance that I do not have."

Trynity went to his computer. "I think I can take care of that."

The captain chuckled and put his hand on her shoulder. "I can't let you do that, Dr. Nelson. Lars was a good friend of mine. I wouldn't want to be an accessory to his widow being arrested for hacking the civil defense computer."

Trynity looked regretfully at his computer. "Where is your adventurous spirit, Frank?"

"Waiting for me two years from now at my retirement party, Dr. Nelson. By the way, could you spare a few moments to check my back?"

"Very clever, Frank. Just turn your back while I..."

The captain laughed. "I think you had better return to your seat. I don't believe you can be trusted."

Trynity was frowning when she left the cockpit and returned to sit beside Stryfe who had put his seat back and was listening to music. The flight attendant glared at Trynity and walked past when she was offering other passengers some refreshment.

Stryfe turned his head to look at her. "Thanks, mom. I could have used something cool to drink."

"Why don't you go charm her?"

"Now why didn't I think of that?" He tossed aside the headphones and left her. She watched her tall young son approach the flight attendant, then turn on the charm. She couldn't help but smile. Lars had taught him how to manipulate women; there was no doubt about that. She wondered if they had structured lessons on the subject including assignments and tests. 

There were many women who had envied Trynity, and Trynity had warranted every covetous glare. She hadn't been sure at first about Lars' capacity for fidelity, but once the ring went on his finger, he seemed to have become blind to the other women who never ceased trying to lead him astray. He had been a devoted husband and father, and she didn't realize until it was almost too late just how much he had meant to her.

Thinking about the report the pilot didn't have access to made Trynity realize she might have received something from Heero. Flipping open her computer, she accessed her mail, and seeing several messages from Relena, no doubt concerning her gala, she passed on them, looking from something from Heero. When she saw one without a return address and a security lock, she was certain she had found it.

Several minutes passed before she finally cracked the code, and by the time she did she was planning how many ways she could chew out her friend for the excessive security. But instead of the report she expected, she read this message:

__

Knew you couldn't resist. 

The mountains would be a lot warmer if you were here.

Hope you enjoy the ball. I'm sure you will be lovely.

She sat frozen, staring at the screen as the message faded into an ornate Arabic symbol for the number four. 

When Stryfe returned and settled in the seat, a glass of juice in his hand, she quickly shut her computer. "I have a date for Relena's gala."

Shaking her head, and trying to ignore Quatre Winner's message, she asked, "Do you know her name?"

Stryfe looked over his shoulder at the pretty blonde who smiled at him. "Not a clue."

"Do you think you could pick her out of crowd?" asked Trynity with a half-smile.

He shrugged. "On a good day."

Trynity opened up her computer again. "We aren't going to get back in time for her celebration." She could take her mind off the Winner bastard by turning her attention to her work

"You didn't want to go anyway," commented Stryfe. "If I thought you could move the stars, I'd say you are responsible for our delay."

Trynity couldn't move the stars, couldn't map the stars, and she couldn't understand anything about space. Perhaps that is why she chose not to pursue a career in that field. After spending too much time studying space, she realized how pointless it was. At least in caring for the sick she could see results. In some small way she could make a difference in somebody's life.

"I doubt if Quynn will meet us at the shuttle bay," remarked Stryfe.

"She probably has several dates for the ball. You're right. She wouldn't have made plans to meet us anyway." Trynity's daughter was a flirt; there was no other way to describe her. Capricious and carefree, she flitted from man to man of which she had plenty to choose. Fortunately she didn't get too serious so Trynity didn't worry about her behavior. Quynn could certainly take care of herself. Lars had taught her more moves to counter wandering hands than Trynity had ever known. Then again he was the expert. 

The shuttle finally continued on the journey to L12, and after docking, they discovered Stryfe's prediction had come true. Quynn was not waiting, but there was an escort from the governor's residence who informed them that the ball had already begun.

"We should have come back with Heero," commented Stryfe as they took the lift at the back of the residence up to the penthouse Yuy residence.

"Look at it this way; now you can make a grand entrance."

"I would rather not be making that grand entrance with my own mother."

When they arrived, they found the residence deserted, and Trynity was glad. She wasn't up to a conversation with Relena who could really wear on her nerves even if she was a dear friend. So when she turned on the telecom in the guestroom that Trynity used when staying there and she saw Relena's face flash on the screen, Trynity switched to the next message before Relena could even speak.

Quynn's face appeared. "Sorry, mom, but I had escort duty tonight." She winked. "And is he ever hot! See you later." 

The screen went blank for a few moments before Relena appeared. "Let me know the minute you get back. I mean it, Trynity! I have to talk to you immediately!"

Trynity shrugged and went to the closet to find something to wear and she found an emerald green evening gown that Quynn must have purchased for her. The clinging silk was so fine that Trynity wondered how her daughter was paying for it, then remembered that Quynn was young and single with high rank pilot's pay. Although Trynity hadn't been fitted for it, she found that it fit perfectly, and she liked how it felt on her, even if it was a little risque.

Trynity didn't feel like attending the ball or meeting any supposed "old friends." What old friends did she have anyway that she couldn't see on a regular basis? She had even visited briefly with Sally and Wufei when they met her at the shuttle port on L11 when the shuttle stopped to refuel. So who was the old friend? She couldn't guess.

After showering and dressing, she met Stryfe in the salon. He was wearing his Cinq Kingdom uniform, and he whistled when she met him in the salon. "Mom, I don't want to spend the night protecting you. Don't you have a shawl or something to put on over that?"

"I am perfectly able to take care of myself, and I don't plan on staying long anyway. I'm tired from the trip, and these things bore me." She felt ridiculous in the gown Quynn had left for her. She had to remind herself that although she wasn't a young woman like her daughter, she certainly was not old either. So, it was a little revealing, but Trynity didn't have anything to hide. Maybe she should just try to enjoy herself. Lord knew she hadn't had much chance to have a good time. There just might be someone interesting at the ball. Her father was right, that she should get on with her life. The time had come to make a change.

As they rode down the lift to the ground level ballroom, Trynity clipped some of her hair up with a golden barrette Lars had given her for an anniversary present, their fifth. He had always been thoughtful in that way. For every occasion he considered special, he had sent her a bouquet of roses. Trynity thought it was silly at first, but then she would get a little thrill when a bouquet would arrive. He wasted a lot of money that way, but she didn't scold him because it wouldn't have done much good. Lars did as he wished, even if they didn't have much money.

The lift came to a stop and did a turn so that the doors were facing the ballroom. Stryfe held out his arm and she hooked her own around it, then he pushed the button to open the doors. Their arrival went almost unnoticed, except that Trynity saw Relena waving to her from across the crowded ballroom. The noise was almost deafening from the music and the hundreds of conversations. Trynity looked over the many men and women searching for her daughter, but she didn't see Quynn anywhere. She did see Quatre's son, Malik, dancing – rather attempting to dance – with a young woman Trynity didn't recognize and she wondered what Quynn thought of that. Then she noticed Quynn having the same bad luck in dance partners with a rather good-looking tall young man, another Trynity didn't recognize.

Relena was pushing her way toward Trynity, and because she didn't want to listen to her nagging, she quickly pulled Stryfe onto the dance floor. He glanced over his shoulder to see what precipitated her sudden move, then chuckled.

"She looks insistent," he remarked. "I think she is going to cut in."

"Get me to the other side of the ballroom. I have a headache and I don't want to hear her tonight. I came to this ridiculous event – not the first of its kind – but I won't let her show me around like a prize poodle to the eligible men she has lined up."

"It can't hurt, mom. And if she has picked them out, they have been sent through a very fine screening process." Trynity could see that Stryfe was laughing at her by the twinkle in his eyes.

"Don't tell me she has got you on her side."

"Trynity!" she heard Relena call out.

"Exit stage left," she ordered her dance partner.

Stryfe spun her away, once, twice, and Trynity found herself stumbling. "My God, Stryfe, where did you learn how to dance? I thought they gave lessons at the academy!"

He laughed. "They did, and I will have you know I received a very respectable passing score, although I did think I was going to fail when I stepped on the dance master's toes."

"I hope you didn't break them."

"Mr. Cassat wasn't any worse for wear. He hobbled around a few days." Stryfe grinned down at her. "I think he passed me because I was entitled to a re-take on the test."

"A very smart move on his part."

"Here she comes again."

"Trynity! Stop! I have to talk to you." Relena was weaving around the dancing partners cramming the dance floor.

"This could be dangerous for me," remarked Trynity as Stryfe spun her away. She took a glance down to make sure she hadn't fallen out of her gown, then concentrated on regaining her balance. "Maybe one of your young friends is a better dancer than you."

"Don't go there, mom. You don't want any one of my friends to get their hands on you. There isn't much to that gown."

"Trynity!" Relena was angry and getting closer.

"Here we go again!" Stryfe spun her around and around, away from Relena. Although he wasn't very graceful, Stryfe did manage to get people to move with his size. He was taller than the average man was, like Lars had been, strangely enough, and he did have a commanding presence. In his Cinq Kingdom dress uniform, he was quite a handsome young man, and Trynity realized she should let him go his own way. There were plenty of hearts for him to win and break before the night was over.

He spun her out one last time, but when she reached the limit of his arm length, his hands slipped from hers and she stumbled away. She fell into several people before she seemed to come against a human wall, and she bounced back and fell on the floor. 

She quickly checked her gown - still in one piece and covering what it should- then she pushed the hair from her eyes and looked up at the man, into whom she had run into, ready to apologize for her clumsiness. But the words were stuck in her throat as she raised her head, taking in the strange dress and fabric, the rich dark blue hue trimmed with gold of a tunic belted at the waist with a golden sash. Trynity wondered if she were in some strange dream until she looked at the face of the stranger, and suddenly she was caught up in a nightmare.

"I am beginning to think there is something about me that makes women fall at my feet."

Duo Maxwell! This couldn't be! No, this wasn't happening! This man wasn't Duo! It just was not possible! This man was a giant! And yet she recognized the hair that still hung well below his waist, although he no longer wore it braided, caught loosely in the back with a golden band. The face wasn't his either! It was too mature, too lean, too dark, and too handsome. But she realized it was him as he continued to look down at her with his dark blue eyes. Trynity would never forget those eyes. They were Quynn's eyes.

She realized now that the strange dress was Calabrian. Trynity could not move, could only stare up at him, and he looked down at her, his brows raised as he held out a hand to help her up.

"Mom, are you all right?" Stryfe appeared, and reached down for her, ignoring the hand that Duo now dropped to his side.

She smoothed out her dress and forced a smile to her lips when he had helped her to her feet. "Yes, I am quite fine."

Relena appeared on the scene like an avenging angel. "What have you done now?" she demanded of Duo.

Duo sneered at her with disgust, then turned on his heel and walked away.

"Trynity, what were you thinking?" Relena was laying into her already although all Trynity could do is watch Duo's retreating back.

"This isn't really happening," said Trynity.

Relena pinched her hard enough to make Trynity jump and almost screech. "There, are you convinced! I sent you dozens of messages to warn you. Didn't you read any of them?"

They moved away from the dance floor toward the refreshments. Trynity could use a drink. She looked around the room and easily spotted Duo. He was with the young woman Malik Winner had been dancing with. Now Quynn joined them, and Trynity felt a tug at her heart to see them standing together. Duo wasn't paying much attention to Quynn as he spoke to the young woman, and Trynity wondered who she was.

"When did he arrive?" she heard herself ask.

"The wormhole opened a few days ago and vomited that bastard back into our system."

"A very nice choice of words, Relena."

"It's true. His ship came hurling from nowhere. They might have crashed into the colony had Quynn not been able to stop him with Deathscythe. He claims he was on a mission for Trey. Now he is stuck here until that wreck of a ship is patched up and we can send him and his odd menagerie back to where they came from."

"Who is that with him?" asked Trynity as she noted that the dark-haired young woman was holding Duo's arm rather possessively. "She is quite pretty."

"She said she was his concubine at first."

Trynity didn't know where that stab of jealousy came from. Duo Maxwell was a stranger to her. He had likely made a life for himself just as she had. He had been the one to leave her, she reminded herself, when she felt sudden guilt at spending her life with Lars. She didn't put him in that escape pod.

"Well, anyway, she changed her story and claims to be Trey's daughter, Shamara."

"Shamara!" Trynity had held Shamara in her arms when she was just an infant. "What are they doing together?"

"I am not sure, and I don't think Duo trusts us enough to tell us the truth. He says he was escorting Shamara to Bayman and that the young man is her imperial guard. Apparently she was on her way to marry their prince when the wormhole opened."

Trynity looked at the glass of wine in her hand. "It looks as though he is well." A man couldn't have changed more.

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you, that the imperial guard is Duo's son."

She spilled the wine on the front of her gown. "His son! Duo has a son?" Trynity quickly looked across the room to see Quynn hanging on the young Calabrian man. "Quynn hasn't…"

"Don't be silly! Do you think I'd let her hit on him? Besides, that boy is obsessed with his duty, and Quynn is just trying to make Malik and Chaz jealous. Taeron – that is his name – spends his time watching Shamara like a hawk as well as Duo. He calls him "lord". Imagine that! Duo Maxwell is lord of nothing but utter stupidity."

Trynity dabbed at the stain on her gown with a napkin. "I can't stay here. I'm going back to my room. Wake me up when this nightmare is over."

"I don't blame you."

Trynity made her way to the elevator, and as she was standing before the door waiting, she saw Quynn approaching leading Duo and his small Calabrian group. 

"Mom, you aren't escaping already!" exclaimed her daughter when she reached her. "I haven't shown you my surprise." She saw the stain. "Mother! You ruined that dress!" Then she frowned. "Did you buy that on Earth? Where did you get the money for a gown like that?"

"Didn't you…" Trynity felt her stomach lurch as she remembered Quatre's message.

__

Hope you enjoy the ball. I'm sure you will be lovely.

Trynity avoided looking at Duo, but she did notice that he wasn't looking at her either. "I'm going to bed, Quynn. The flight was delayed and I am exhausted." She wanted to get out of the gown as soon as possible.

The door opened and Trynity stepped inside the elevator. She was trying to think of some polite way to excuse herself to Duo, when Quynn shoved him inside. "Good, you can take him back. He's not feeling well."

Trynity saw the young woman Relena pointed out as Shamara try to get past Quynn, but Quynn was quicker and closed the door. This was the last thing she wanted, to be stuck in an elevator with Duo! She didn't know what to say! Her head was aching, and her throat was tight, and gut was twisting with revulsion from wearing something Quatre Winner had given her that had probably cost ten times what she imagined Quynn had spent.

"Are you staying with Relena?" she finally asked.

"To my misfortune, yes." He reached out to press the buttons to take them upwards. "The last three days have seemed like an eternity."

Trynity dared to glance at him and noted that he was staring straight ahead. He didn't really look like the Duo of her memories. She had a difficult time believing he could change so much, but then she was a medical doctor, and she did know that stages of development were achieved at different...God, what was she thinking?! Here she was alone in an elevator with Duo Maxwell and she was recalling paragraphs from her biology textbook. She certainly understood now where Stryfe had gotten his height. 

The lift seemed to be taking longer than usual to reach the governor's residence. The silence between them was uncomfortable and Trynity felt responsible. Duo obviously had nothing to say to her. Then again, she didn't really have anything to say to him either. What she wanted to say, she had wanted to say seventeen years ago and he didn't give her the chance. So why bother now?

She looked at him again. His jaw was tight and she recognized lines of pain. There was a thin line of perspiration on his pale face. "Are...are you all right?"

He didn't turn his head. "What do you think, Dr. Nelson?" He stressed the last word enough to make the hair rise at the back of her neck.

Trynity didn't have anything to be ashamed of! In fact, she felt herself growing cold with anger, but she managed to control it. "I imagine you are eager to return to Calabria."

"Damn right! There's nothing here for me."

Although it hurt her to hear him say it, she knew she was silly to think he might feel anything for her anymore. Trynity couldn't help her own wayward feelings. "Relena told me that Shamara is with you."

"I have to get Shamara back to Calabria." He closed his eyes and rubbed them between his fingers. 

Trynity's instinct was to reach out to him, but she dared not touch Duo. He was wound tight and she didn't want to see him snap. She didn't know what this man might do and she already sensed hostility. "Is...is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't need anything from you." The lift came to a stop and he went through the door immediately when it slid open.

Trynity hesitated, then followed. Duo headed straight for the suite where she guessed he was staying, but before he entered, he leaned against the door as if he didn't have the strength to open it. Trynity watched him fumble with the code lock on the door before he disappeared inside. 

She didn't know what she should do. Duo was obviously ill, and yet he was quite clear in his rejection of her. But Trynity was still a doctor and she had an obligation to the sick and suffering of others, even if it was Duo Maxwell. 

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she walked straight to the suite into which he had gone, and she raised her hand to knock on the door but decided against it. In his mood, he would tell her to go away or worse. Trynity noticed the door was ajar, so she was about to push it open, but she paused when she heard the elevator door open.

"Lord Duo, where are you?" Trynity realized it must be the young man pointed out to her as Taeron, Shamara's guard, and Duo's son. He came into the hall where she was standing, and his eyes went from her to her hand on the door. He had spoken Calabrian, but Trynity remembered the language from her stay in that part of space. "What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

She released the latch. "He seemed very ill. I was going to help him."

"He doesn't need the help of a human female," snarled the young man as he came toward her.

The door opened revealing Duo. He had removed the tunic and was wearing a loose, half-open shirt. "Where is Shamara?"

"I am here."

Shamara came forward now with Quynn behind her.

"See, I told you guys everything was all right. Now, let's get back to the ball." She glanced at Trynity who was still standing at the door. She was so close to Duo that she could feel the heat of his body. One look at him convinced Trynity that he had a fever. "Mom, what are you up to?"

She sighed in exasperation. "He's sick. I wanted to check on him."

"And I already told you I don't need anything from you, Dr. Nelson."

He used that same tone. Trynity was sure now that he was furious about her marriage to Lars. What right did he have to condemn her? Trynity had been left alone and pregnant! She did what she thought was right and she did not regret her decision. 

Before Trynity could explode with the anger that was building inside, Shamara pushed past Taeron and Trynity, and she took Duo's arm to drape around her shoulder. "You must rest, my lord."

They ducked into the suite and Taeron followed, but Trynity wasn't about to let them get away so easily. "I am a doctor," she said as she pushed into the room. "I insist on examining him, if not for him, then for the sake of the colonists. If he has brought some type of disease..."

"I don't have a disease!" snapped Duo as he lay back on the bed.

"You have never been this ill before," Trynity heard Shamara whisper to him. "Let me help you."

"No, Shamara. Just let me rest."

He wasn't going to like it, but Trynity had dealt with cantankerous patients before. Duo never could take an illness very bravely. Now he lay with his arm across his eyes, pale and feverish. 

Trynity sat on the edge of the bed. "I know you don't want my help, but from what I gather listening to Shamara, you have had this illness before. Have you been treated on Calabria for something?"

Shamara looked at her. "By my uncle, Apolo, and from time to time I am able to ease his pain."

"I don't need your help, Dr..."

"Shut up!" Trynity wanted to slap him.

"Do not speak to my lord in such a manner!" From out of nowhere, Taeron produced a long, sharp dagger. Trynity should have remembered that Imperial Guards always seemed to have some secret place to hide their weapons. Taeron was ready to defend his father's honor with the blade, and being a Calabrian, he would think nothing of gutting her.

"Put away your weapon," Duo ordered Taeron. "We are guests here."

Taeron turned to Duo. "But my lord, she cannot be allowed to speak to you in such a manner!"

"I told you to put the dagger away."

He was reluctant, but he tucked the weapon away amongst his clothing in a place Trynity couldn't find if she tried. She looked back to Duo once the danger had passed. "Where is your pain?"

His eyes came to hers. Trynity felt moved by the deep sadness in them. "My heart, Miss Stryfe." Then his lashes fluttered and his eyes rolled back as he drifted out of consciousness.


	6. Duo's recovery Dagan's survival

**__**

Infirmary, Cinq Kingdom Colony L12

"You've spent way too much time here. I hardly ever see you as it is, Trynity, and I can't believe you are wasting your time at the infirmary with this bastard."

The voice seemed to be coming from far away, but Duo could recognize Relena Peacecraft Yuy's disapproving tone. Just as he suspected, Relena would be waiting in hell for him.

"I'm just checking on a patient," he heard Trynity say. Nothing sounded so sweet and so painful at the same time. After all that they had been through, he had come to be only a patient to her. 

Duo realized he was not on the comfortable bed in the suite at the Yuy residence. Hearing a steady buzz of monitors and remembering Relena saying they were in the infirmary, he knew that he must have been hospitalized. Where was Shamara? He hoped that Taeron was taking his duty seriously in staying at her side although he didn't think they had anything to worry about in this solar system. With the possible except of that missing craft from Bayman. They still didn't know who was on it or what their intention had been.

"Can you meet me for lunch, at least?" Relena seemed to be pleading. "We haven't had a chance to talks about this."

"I'm sorry, Relena. Several of my former patients from the colony found out that I am have returned and they want me to see them this afternoon. I can't turn them down."

"You're lying! You're just going to sit here at his bedside."

"I have no intention of sitting at his beside. I wasn't even in here for two minutes before you got here."

"You looked pretty comfortable for a mere two minutes." There was a moment of silence. Duo wanted to open his eyes a crack to peek out, but he was afraid Relena might see he was conscious and start hassling him. He was too weak to put up with her censure today. His body felt numb and he didn't think he could move. He had no memory of what had happened after he had lost consciousness and didn't know how long he had been in the infirmary.

"I give up! I'll see you later, won't I? Or are you going to sleep in your _office_ again?"

"I have rounds to make at night," snapped Trynity irritably. "Get off my back, Relena!"

Duo heard footsteps, but they stopped. "I just don't want you to do anything stupid, Trynity. If you've gotten burned putting your hand in the fire once, then you shouldn't do it again."

"What would I do without your sage advice?" Trynity's tone was sarcastic.

"I'll see you later."

"Maybe."

The footsteps sounded again, and he heard the door close. So now he was presumably alone with Trynity. This was a situation he wanted to avoid. Duo couldn't look at her without thinking of her with Lars Nelson, the man with whom she shared her life over sixteen years. Sixteen years! She hadn't even been with him sixteen months! All these years separated from her, Duo had guarded his precious memories of her in his heart hoping that he would one day be reunited with her. All that time, Trynity had been with another man.

He had no one to blame but himself.

He must have groaned aloud because he felt her cool fingers checking his pulse. "Are you awake, Duo?"

Duo didn't want to open his eyes. What he wanted was to return to Calabria, to his home on the moon where he could go about forgetting the past. He had wasted all those years pining for a love that she had quickly forgotten. Duo didn't know how he could change the way he felt, and he couldn't turn his back on what remained in his heart even if she had.

She took her fingers from his wrist. "I know you are awake. I can see by the monitor that you are conscious."

Damn machines! "I want to rest a little longer." His voice sounded weak and pathetic.

"Do as you please. Just don't try to get out of this bed or I'll have you strapped down."

Duo reluctantly opened his eyes. This was a different Trynity. She was wearing a lab coat, but there were what appeared to be balloons and bunny rabbits printed on the yellow fabric. In one of the pockets he noticed a teddy bear. "What the hell is that?" he asked.

Trynity looked down, then she laughed and pulled out the bear. "Some of my patients need some comfort." She put it in his hand. "He's actually very friendly."

Duo tossed it back to her. "I don't need it."

She shrugged and slipped it back in her pocket. "I have rounds in the children's ward. The children there like Master Cuddles." Duo didn't even think it was funny that she had named the bear after the ridiculous bear their math teacher kept on her desk.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked. "Am I in the children's ward?"

"Of course not! I was just checking on you."

"I'm touched by your concern." He didn't really mean it. She was just his doctor now.

She smiled. "Actually, I'm trying to make sure you don't die because I am quite certain your son would kill me if you did."

"He's not…" Duo stopped himself from admitting that Taeron wasn't his son. What was the point? "He's probably very worried."

"As is Shamara. I haven't let her visit because I thought she might try to use her powers, and I clearly heard you tell her that she could not."

"She's not as strong as Apolo. I was afraid she would cause great harm to herself." He tried to sit up, but couldn't. "So, what have you done to me?"

"I haven't done anything but give you a little post-surgery care. You had a perforated ulcer. Your surgeon said it was so bad that he is surprised you weren't dead. Fortunately there have been great advances made in that field and he was able to successfully repair you physically." She laughed. "He was quite amazed to see how many times the ulcer had been cauterized and wondered why you didn't have any scars."

Duo sighed. "I don't think he would understand Guerani healing."

"_I_ don't understand Guerani healing." She reached down to pat his hand, which he wanted to draw away. "Get some rest. Now that you are conscious, I will let Shamara and Taeron know they can visit you. Right now I have some children to visit."

"How long have I been here?" he asked her when she reached the door.

"About a week."

"Have there been any more ships arriving from Calabria?"

"None."

A short rap at the door preceded the entry into the room of a man Trynity introduced to Duo as his surgeon. Dr. Kurt Duran greeted him politely, then immediately turned his attention to Trynity. Duo might as well be a corpse for all the attention the surgeon gave him. He asked Trynity what she would be doing, about her patients, how long she would be at the infirmary. Would she have lunch with him? Too busy. How about meeting him at the infirmary gym so they could work out together? She didn't think she would have time to go that day. Duo hoped her refusals wouldn't affect the care Dr. Duran would be giving him.

The doctor finally turned his attention to Duo's chart. "Everything seems to be going well. All your tests have come back in the normal range. Fortunately you are very healthy, so you are healing quickly."

"I have to get going," interrupted Trynity. She turned to look at Duo. "Get some rest. I might stop by later."

"Don't bother," he muttered. "I don't think I'll feel up to visitors." Especially not you, he finished silently.

Trynity shrugged and headed to the door.

"I'll see you around," said Dr. Duran, and he watched her walk to the door. Trynity turned back to glance at Duo, but he looked away, unfortunately getting a good look at Dr. Duran's obvious interest in her backside.

When she had gone, Duran sighed. "Too bad she runs that clinic down on Mars Colony. We don't see nearly enough of her. Not nearly enough."

"You know her pretty well?" asked Duo. He wondered if Trynity had moved on now that Lars was gone. She might be the type who needed a man in her life. Maybe that is why she jumped so readily into Lars' bed.

"We were in many of the same classes at medical school until I chose surgery and she decided on family practice. Waste of her talents, but she seems to get off on helping the wretched masses."

"Are you two an item now?" Duo asked. He didn't like Kurt Duran.

"Sadly, no. We were friends in medical school although I wouldn't have minded something a little more, and I didn't give a damn if she was married. Her husband's been dead over a year now. A woman like her has to get lonely, and I plan to be around when she does." The man stroked his bearded chin thoughtfully. "Although I did hear a rumor that she's been getting it from Quatre Winner down on Mars."

Quatre Winner? Duo couldn't even imagine it. Although Quatre hadn't been at the ball, Duo had met the Winner heir, and although Trynity's daughter seemed to find the blond young man attractive, Duo took an instant dislike to him. He couldn't put his finger on the problem, but he sensed Malik Winner was playing a role in public. So what had his father become? Duo realized that since his arrival, he knew very little about the lives of his former friends, not even Heero who had spent most of the previous day busy at his office while the Calabrians rested. Duo could easily imagine Trynity with Lars, but not Trynity with Quatre Winner. The thought was almost laughable.

"As for you, Mr. Maxwell…" The doctor gave Duo an explanation about the procedure he had undergone in enough detail to almost make Duo sick. He ended by telling Duo that he had to come to terms with whatever distress had caused the illness in the first place or he would find himself in the same shape in a few months. Duo knew what caused the distress, and there was nothing he could do to change it. How could one decision screw up his life so much? He ended by suggesting that Duo speak to a psychologist, but Duo told him not to bother sending one.

"I will find solace with guidance from the gods," he told Dr. Duran who raised a skeptical brow at him.

"Have they helped you up to this point?" he asked Duo.

Duo didn't answer. After spending so many years amongst the Calabrians and witnessing all that he had, he could not mock the gods. He just didn't know yet what the gods had planned for him. 

"Let me know if you change your mind." Duo was glad when Dr. Duran finally left. He had little doubt that Duran was going to stalk and try to bag Trynity before the end of the day. He told himself that it was none of his business, and yet he hadn't liked how the man talked about her so casually to his patient. Didn't she deserve a little more respect than that? 

Late in the day, Shamara and Taeron arrived with Quynn and the young man Duo had seen Trynity dancing with at the ball. He had called her "mom", so he must be her son, Ivan, whom everyone called Stryfe. He was wearing a pilot's uniform as was his sister so they must have recently gotten off duty to accompany Shamara and Taeron to the infirmary.

Shamara hurried to his bed and put her arms around him. "Lord Duo, you are awake! I was so worried about you!"

She framed his face with his hands, but he shook his head to remove her touch. "I am not in pain, Shamara."

She stepped back, the hurt showing in her eyes. "I was just trying to help."

Duo looked past her to Taeron. "Have you been protecting the princess?"

"She hasn't been from my sight, my lord."

"This whole imperial guard thing is a drag," commented Quynn as she sat on the edge of Duo's bed. "We can't have any fun."

Duo looked at her. In the short time he had been at Heero's home, he had determined that Trynity's daughter was a hopeless flirt. He couldn't decide if she preferred Heero's son, Chaz, or Quatre's son, Malik. They both buzzed around her like bees over a flower, but she mercilessly ignored them in her pursuit of any other male that caught her eye, including Taeron. 

"Taeron has responsibilities," he said to her.

"Dull responsibilities." She sighed until her brother cleared his throat. "Oh! My brother wants to be introduced."

Stryfe stepped forward, his hand out. "I've heard a lot about you! I know you went to the academy with my mother and father. Pops mentioned you quite a bit. I think he admired you."

Sure he did, thought Duo bitterly as he grasped Stryfe's hand. Admired him enough to snatch up his girl at the first opportunity. "We weren't at the academy long together before I was assigned to L10."

"Too bad. Maybe you have some stories you can tell me about him."

He had nothing to say to Lars' son. "Maybe."

"Mom said not to tire him out," said Quynn as she reached out to grab Shamara's hand. "We have some shopping to do. Let's…" Her voice trailed off suddenly.

Duo glanced at Shamara and saw a startled look on her face, then his eyes dropped to her hand where Quynn was holding it. Damn! What was she doing now?

Quynn snatched her hand away, her eyes darted to Duo's face, and then she looked at her hand before she tossed back her hair and laughed. "That was quite a shock! Must be static electricity! Well, let's go!"

She walked to the door with a quick step, and she didn't even wait for them to say goodbye before she left. Shamara stayed behind for a moment because Duo grabbed her arm, and Taeron paused at the door. "What was that?"

"I…I…" There was surprise in her eyes as she met his. "I don't know! I felt something strange, but I can't put a name to it."

Duo closed his eyes. "Shamara, don't touch anyone else while we are here. Promise me."

"I won't, Lord Duo. I promise." She kissed his forehead, then she hugged him. "Get some rest."

"My lord," spoke up Taeron. "I have made some inquiries and have found no report of the Bayman ship. Could it have been destroyed in the wormhole?"

"If it was, I hope Prince Dagan wasn't aboard."

**__**

Mars Colony

"Get back to work!"

Dagan glanced up to see a guard club one of the other workers with a stick. The man dropped to his knees then dragged himself back up. He didn't know what the man had done, but he had been in the mine long enough to know that stopping to wipe sweat from one's brow was enough to infuriate the guards. The bruises on his own body had forced him to learn enough of this language to know why the other man was being beaten.

"You!" Dagan realized he was being addressed and turned to look at the burly man holding the stick. The fact that all the workers wore collars and wristbands through which the guards could send debilitating electronic pulses to punish them wasn't enough for this man. He seemed to derive some kind of pleasure by beating the workers.

Dagan started to move towards him when he felt a shock from his neck collar. Apparently he wasn't moving fast enough, so he hurried to the guard and hoped he would understand what was expected of him. Unfortunately, he didn't which earned him a slap across the face before the guard's other victim spoke quickly, saying something that appeased the guard who gave Dagan one last jolt in the neck collar before walking away to harass other workers. 

As he gasped to catch his breath, the other man watched him for a moment then started to speak. He was explaining something in great detail that Dagan didn't understand until he pointed out what Dagan recognized as blasting equipment. Now he realized what was expected of him. The guard wanted him to set the charges further ahead in the tunnel. Dagan had never seen any man return from that duty. A few days ago some limbs were found of the last man they had sent deep into the mine shaft. Dagan thought it strange that some of the flesh was missing and that most of the body was never found. 

So was this the fate the gods had for him? Where was the adventure he was supposed to encounter? He thought it had begun when the gods had sucked his craft into the vortex in space despite the efforts of his pilots to avoid it. They had lost control, and Dagan was sure he was going to die when they crashed on this primitive planet. The two pilots were killed on impact, one of his guards died shortly after, and the other who had shielded Dagan from the worst of the accident, lingered for a few days before he also died from his injuries. Dagan had been bruised, shaken and confused for several days as he wandered through the thick vegetation until kind strangers found him. 

The simple people who lived in a forest village took him in and cared for his injuries despite the fact he could not communicate with them. In the evenings the entire village –a couple dozen people – would gather together to eat, sharing what they had with each other. Dagan wondered if the gods wanted him to learn a lesson from these honest people. The only lesson he learned was that cruelty was universal. One evening, their peaceful meal was disturbed when brigands riding horned beasts surged into camp. Some women and children escaped into the forest, others were beaten, raped or killed while the men were herded like animals away. Since that evening, Dagan had worn the collar around his neck, the bracelets around his wrists. The men had been thrust into the mines to dig for crude gems and another substance that glowed on the walls and ground of the dark, moist tunnels.

Dagan watched as the man explained again how to set the charges, then nodded toward the yawning black pit ahead of them. The guard barked at him, so Dagan moved carefully forward into the darkness. Fortunately, the glow from the mineral they were extracting lit the way somewhat although he had to squint to see better in the darkness. He stumbled over something, heard a squeak and felt something furry brushed against his leg. There were slimy creatures moving along the walls, most small enough not to cause concern although Dagan realized they would probably be feasting on his body if he were trapped in the rubble from the explosion he was about to set. He guessed the guard had timed the charges so that he couldn't escape, that he enjoyed killing men. All the men in the mines were at his mercy, and he preyed upon their fear. Were all men of power corrupt? Was this the lesson the gods expected him to learn? Was it a warning?

A low sound akin to a growl made Dagan stop and look around. The sound repeated, but this time it was louder and it seemed to ripple through his body. Although he was able to control himself, his heart began to beat faster with fear. Dagan knew that he had to suppress his panic or he would be unable to stop the surge of power now bubbling deep inside his body. He waited for a moment, listening carefully before he took a few steps back toward the end of the tunnel. He heard the guard shout something and assumed it was an order to continue. Strangely, he didn't feel a shock from the collar. Perhaps the signal did not reach this far.

There came a rumbling beneath his feet, and Dagan had to reach out to the wall to maintain his balance. The guard was shouting at him again, and he heard the shouts of others as well, but he could not understand them. He wiped the slime from his hand and pulled off a small, slippery beast that had begun to suck on his hand. This was a test of the gods, he was certain. When Dagan came to the wall at the end, he heard another loud groan, but this time the entire cavern shook and creatures dropped from the ceiling onto him.

He didn't have time to swipe them away because from the blackness ahead came another rumbling, and the wall suddenly collapsed, spewing rocks outward. Dagan fell backwards from the blast, wondering vaguely if the charges had already been set. But as he turned and started to rise, he was struck speechless as a creature the size and like of which he had never seen in his life burst out, opening an orifice that could be its mouth and spewing forth the same glowing liquid that eerily illuminated the mine. Dagan rolled out of the way, just barely able to avoid being hit by the repulsive ooze. Several of the smaller beasts on the floor were caught under the liquid and sizzled before dissolving. 

Dagan didn't waste any more time. He quickly regained his feet just as he heard the creature roar again, and he started to run back from where he had come. He could hear the giant creature chasing him, its huge, unholy body slithering over the ground, making the entire cavern shake. Dagan could not worry about controlling his fear now. It was full upon him. 

As he emerged from the tunnel into the central digging site, the men were already running for the lifts that could carry them upward to safety. Dagan dashed for the lift, but it was already ascending, and although the other workers reached down for him, the guard was laughing sadistically as it pulled away from him. 

The roar of the beast behind him made Dagan spin around to see the fanged monster rear up over him. He saw horrified to see a skull with rotting flesh stuck between two of its massive teeth, and he knew if he didn't do something, he would become a victim as well. There was no more time for coherent thought. The monster struck down at him, and Dagan raised his hands as his master had taught him. The power flowed out from the center of his being, and a blast more powerful than any he had ever achieved struck the monster. Its shriek of pain was terrifying, and the stench of its burned flesh churned Dagan's stomach. 

But after a moment's pause, the creature turned back to Dagan. Dagan had never used his powers more than once in such a short span. Master Nazzar didn't believe he was powerful enough. Now he would have to prove that he was, or he was going to be the creature's meal. Concentrating even as the monster came so close its hot, fetid breath assailed him, Dagan began to draw his powers again from deep within. Some type of appendage swept out and knocked him against a far wall. Dagan almost lost consciousness, but he forced himself to keep his eyes open, his blurry gaze upon the monster creeping toward him, sniffing as if searching for its food. It's huge tongue lapped over Dagan, covering him with a noxious slime. Fear exploded in his mind and heart and shook his body. When the beast opened it's gigantic mouth, Dagan let loose a stream of power that brightened the cavern and tore through the monster, making it glow for a moment before the beast exploded from the inside out. 

As it's innards rained around him, Dagan closed his eyes and fell backwards, his last thought that although he had killed the monster, the tiny creatures in the caves would enjoy cleaning up both him and the beast.

A bright light awoke him. Dagan couldn't see very well at first, having been blinded by that light and having spent countless days in the hole in the ground. But after a few moments, he was able to see the blurry face of a man waving a small light as he held his eyelids open.

Dagan groaned. The man released him and said something to someone behind him. Dagan tried to sit up but realized quickly that he was strapped down to what seemed to be a table. Another man stepped forward, brushed blond hair from his blue eyes and peered down at Dagan. 

When he spoke, Dagan was amazed to understand him. "The guards at the mine think you cannot hear. My guess is you came through that wormhole."

He was speaking Calabrian, a language Dagan could understand perfectly. So, was this some Calabrian colony? Dagan knew that Emperor Trey had made contacts on other worlds, had even spent a few years in another system. Was this the type of people his father wanted an alliance with?

"Perhaps you are deaf and dumb."

"I can speak," said Dagan.

"Who are you?"

"Am I on Calabria?"

The blond man laughed. "No. You are in the human solar system. Your ship passed through a wormhole and must have crashed here. My men are combing the forests for the wreckage. Fortunately for you, I can understand you although I expect you will have to learn to communicate with my people. Who are you?"

Dagan dared not tell the truth. By the treatment these humans gave each other, he feared what he would do if he knew Dagan was the heir to a planet kingdom. "My name is …is…" He remembered the name of one of his guards. "Kael. I was assigned to guard Prince Dagan on his nuptial voyage."

"Prince Dagan? I seem to recall something of that name. Ah, yes, the brother of the lovely Princess Ryana."

This man knew his sister! Dagan didn't betray his surprise. "Yes, the brother of Princess Ryana. He was to marry…"

"Let me guess: Princess Shamara. I will assume that she is the only one of rank worthy of him." The man leaned forward. "My name is Quatre Raberba Winner. I am well acquainted with Emperor Trey of Calabria. We fought side by side in many battles, but then he was called Trowa Barton. I held Princess Shamara in my arms when she was just an infant during those dark days before he gained his throne."

Dagan guessed by the tone of his voice that Quatre Raberba Winner wasn't all that impressed by Trey of Calabria. Dagan had heard nothing but good things about the ruler of Bayman's sister planet, so he was rather surprised. "I…I do not know Emperor Trey."

"Of course you wouldn't. Where is Prince Dagan?"

"He…he did not survive the crash."

The blond man stared at him, his blue eyes piercing as if he could read through his lies. Then he sighed. "Too bad. I would have liked having some leverage over Trey. Oh well, I suppose his empire has gotten very powerful, just as the prophecy foretold."

What prophecy? But Dagan nodded. "My lord, King Seighen, was honored that Emperor Trey wanted his son to marry his princess."

"Enough talk about Trey. I want information about the powers that you used in the mines. Unfortunately, you killed a boreworm, but I am interested in the magic you used. You frightened the workers considerably. They are a rebellious, lazy lot, and I don't think the guards and the collars will hold them in check much longer, especially when certain individuals seem to be so intent on fighting their battles."

"What is a boreworm?" asked Dagan. Winner seemed to be disappointed that the beast had been killed.

Quatre Winner chuckled, and the sound chilled Dagan. "They are my pets. I discovered their usefulness quite by accident. The beasts produce a substance that is highly hallucinogenic and very addictive. I have quite a thriving business on some of the colonies as well as here on Mars."

"The mines are not for retrieving ore?" asked Dagan.

"There are quite a few mineral deposits which make my operations on this planet appear respectable, but the farming of the boreworms is what makes this primitive planet worth my efforts here."

"The work is dangerous," commented Dagan. "The boreworms seem to have a taste for flesh."

Quatre laughed again. "Hasn't the big picture become clear to you? The guard told me you were among the men taken in the raid on the forest village in sector X712."

"I think they called it Greenvale," muttered Dagan. The village had a name; the people had names. Didn't they realize it?

"We don't really need workers." There was a half-smile on Quatre's lips.

Dagan recalled how little work was expected of the men. The quota of ore extracted was really quite small, and a people who could design collars that could keep men's actions in check would surely have a more advanced, less dangerous system of mining. "We…we were captured to … to feed the boreworms."

"You are an intelligent man, Kael. The true mining takes place at another location. I only have a few men at the mining facilities pushing buttons to operate the collection systems. The boreworms produce much better when fed human flesh."

It was on the tip of Dagan's tongue to tell Quatre Raberba Winner just what he thought of him, but he said nothing. Dagan was marooned here, with no chance of returning to Bayman in the immediate future. If he expected to live, he was going to have to do it on this man's terms. This must be part of the gods' plan.

"What do you want of me?" he asked.

"Your powers interest me. Soon enough word of them will have spread to many different villages. If you are seen at my side, the people will forget their wild imaginings of rebellion or at least realize that any such attempt would be futile. You will join my men on their harvesting raids."

Harvesting? The man spoke of destroying other people's lives as if he were talking about bringing in a crop.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Winner was staring down at him and Dagan was acutely aware that he was strapped down and still feeling weak from using his powers.

"I don't want to go back into the mines," stated Dagan. For now he would do what he must to survive.

"As I said before, you are a very intelligent young man." He reached out to push at Dagan's chest and he felt an intense pain. "It's too bad the lovely Dr. Nelson is still at L12. She would be able to set your broken ribs. For now you will have to put up with the primitive care Butch can give you." Quatre looked at the other man. 

He stepped forward carrying a syringe. "This should keep him quiet for a while."

Dagan stared at the glowing substance in the syringe. "I…I have no intention of trying to escape."

Quatre smiled that chilling smile. "You can thank me later."

He felt a prick in his arm, and he strained to see the man called Butch emptying the substance under his skin into his flesh. When he was finished, he stepped back and watched Dagan.

Quatre leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Enjoy your little trip."


	7. Trynity has her say

****

Infirmary Clinic, L12

Another report, another diagnosis, another treatment, another prescription. Trynity blew out air, tossed a folder on her desk and leaned back in her chair. Glancing at her computer screen she had to blink twice before she could believe her eyes. There were no scheduled appointments for at least an hour. That didn't mean she wouldn't have a patient or two straggle in off the street. And Trynity could not turn down the needy refugees from the Mars colony. Kicking off her shoes, she slouched in her chair and closed her eyes. Perhaps she could get just a short nap. She had been so busy working these past few weeks that she went home late, rose early...

Who was she trying to kid? It hadn't been work that made her lose sleep. Trynity couldn't relax with Duo Maxwell nearby. The week he had been in the hospital, she couldn't help but check on him, and the week since he had returned to the Yuy residence, she had been on edge. He was so close now, and yet he might as well still be on Calabria. Duo rarely spoke to her, and only when giving monosyllabic answers to the questions she asked him about Calabria. Trynity dared not let loose with her own suppressed feelings after his illness. She wasn't exactly sure what she felt anymore. Duo Maxwell wasn't the same young man she had fallen in love with so many years ago. That Duo had been carefree, sensitive, and quick to make her laugh. He had smoothed out her rough edges, had made her feel something she had not even known existed. The Duo Maxwell that had returned from Calabria was moody and quiet. His only concern was for Princess Shamara and their return to Calabria. Her grieving for Duo had not been in vain; the Duo she had known had died. She didn't know the man who had risen from his ashes.

A quick rap at the door preceded its opening, and her daughter slipped into the room. "Mom, your nurse skipped out, so I checked and saw that you didn't have any patients for a while. Can I come in?"

Trynity smiled at her as she waved her forward. "Don't tell me you are feeling sick."

Quynn tossed back her hair. "I haven't been sick a day in my life."

"There were plenty of times when you were a baby that your father and I stayed up all night to see you through your fevers."

Quynn sat on the corner of her desk. "Well, I haven't been sick since then."

"You have been very healthy," agreed Trynity. She picked up a pencil and opened a patient's file, but she wasn't really looking at it. Quynn was looking at her in an odd manner that made her feel uncomfortable. "Did you drop by just to remind me how healthy you are?"

Quynn crossed her arms. "Mom, what do you know about Guerani powers?"

Trynity began to tap her pencil nervously. She didn't need Quynn prying into her past, especially the days spent on Calabria. "Well, I know that they are very strong, and if they are misused, they can be dangerous."

"Is it true that they can know everything about a person just through touch?" Quynn was staring at her intently.

"They do seem to have a heightened awareness through the touch of their hands. I would be curious to see what parts of the brain the Guerani people have developed to make them as they are."

"So, you actually think they know everything, even things the person they touch does not?" Quynn was wringing her hands and looking anywhere but at Trynity.

"Imperial Guard Arora helped Trowa Barton recall his past," said Trynity. She was tapping her pencil just as nervously as Quynn was wringing her hands. "What is this about, Quynn?"

"I touched her." Quynn shuddered. "I touched her hand."

The pencil froze, and Trynity couldn't breathe. "What...what did you see?"

"I am not sure." Quynn was lying. Trynity could tell by the way that she avoided looking directly at her. "But...but the feelings I got...that I'm not who I think I am." She looked at Trynity directly now. "I felt so sad when our hands touched. I've been trying to think of a reason, but I can't. Perhaps you could tell me what it all means."

Trynity could tell her exactly what it meant, but she did not want to. She had decided long ago that her children would only know Lars Nelson as their father. Revealing the truth to them now would only end in disaster. Quynn had adored Lars, and a father and son couldn't be any closer than he and Stryfe had been. They had both taken their father's death very hard, and she didn't even want to know how they would feel to discover that Duo Maxwell was their biological father. In Trynity's eyes, he was nothing to them except the male who supplied the genetic material. Duo was ambivalent towards his own son. Deep inside she knew he wouldn't have been able to sustain a relationship within the confines of a family. Watching his lack of interaction with Taeron convinced Trynity that Duo wasn't cut out to be a father. Ironically, Lars couldn't give her any more children although they had both wanted them. His ability to do so had been wiped away doubtless by the blast he had received from the Shadowhawk in the saving of Duo Maxwell's life. Strange that he had ended up raising Duo's children. Was there some poetic justice in that?

"Mom, are you listening?"

She started and looked at Quynn. "I'm sorry I can't concentrate very well. I've been busy lately."

Quynn sighed. "You've been acting strange since those people from Calabria arrived. I did some checking up on Duo Maxwell."

Trynity was confident there was no damning information about them in the military files. "And what did you discover?"

"Not much except that he piloted the Deathscythe during the wars in the year A.C. 195 and later against the Barton Foundation and the Coalition. His academic record at the Royal Academy is quite a humorous read."

Trynity couldn't help but smile.

Quynn laughed. "Your record is even funnier. Do you know, Mom, that you were labeled a social misfit?"

"I know exactly who could have done that!"

"Every teacher except your art teacher. He noted that you were very studious and hard-working."

Trynity laughed. "Actually, I believe he enjoyed looking down my blouse while I was working. He gave me the creeps."

Quynn rolled her eyes. "I know the feeling." She hopped off her desk. "I suppose I should let you get back to work. Stryfe is hanging around with the Calabrians. Their ship is almost completely repaired. Heero had the hull plated with gundanium, and the systems inside are just about ready. Lord Duo has been busy rewiring the ship." 

"He used to work on the Deathscythe," commented Trynity.

Quynn walked to the door, but she paused and looked back at her. "Mom, it almost seems as if you are avoiding him. I thought the two of you might ..."

Trynity put up her hand. "Enough, Quynn. I don't need you to set me up with anyone. I'm perfectly happy the way I am."

"That's just it, Mom. I thought you were perfectly happy until _he_ came along. Now you just look downright miserable."

Trynity sighed. "You're mistaking the reason. I am miserable because I feel obligated to stay here. I would rather be home, on the Mars colony. I am fearful of the situation there. Refugees recently arriving speak of a wizard in the employ of the brigands. I can hardly believe it, but they are frightened witless. Soon enough, no one will be left on the planet. We all had such high hopes for it."

"Maybe you should give up too, Mom. I don't think Quatre Winner is going to let up any time soon. Mars is just a fancy resource satellite of the Winner Foundation. Accept it and leave it at that."

"I can't, Quynn. Not after all the work that went into developing the planet."

Quynn shrugged. "I'll see you later."

"I will have to work late."

"You don't have to work late. Duo Maxwell is going on a date, so you don't have to avoid him."

Before Trynity could respond, Quynn ducked out the door.

A date?

Her hand reached for the telecom, and she quickly dialed Relena. The nurse stepped in to announce a patient, but Trynity waved her away. After a moment, Relena responded to her call.

"Trynity, what are you doing calling in the middle of the day? Is there a problem?"

Trynity couldn't contain her curiosity. "What is this I hear about a date?"

"Whose date?" asked Relena, but by the sly look in her eyes, Trynity knew she knew exactly of whom she spoke.

"Dammit, just tell me!"

"I didn't think you cared."

"I don't!" But she did. Trynity was having a hard enough time dealing with Taeron and her wild imaginings of Duo with another woman. She didn't think she would actually see him with one. "Who is it?"

"She arrived from L11 yesterday on a business trip. If you had been around yesterday, you might have seen her drop by. She was very sorry she missed you."

Trynity curled her hands into fists, the pencil breaking. "That bitch! Please tell me it is not Hilde Schbeiker!"

"I think you better give yourself a sedative," laughed Relena. 

The nurse popped her head in. "I'm sorry to disturb you, doctor, but you have several patients waiting."

Trynity ended her communication to Relena without a good-bye. Hilde! Hilde hadn't wanted to give up Duo seventeen years ago, and worse, she just wouldn't leave Lars alone. Lars had never been unfaithful to Trynity, but Hilde certainly tried to tempt him by conveniently being on the different colonies where Lars would be arriving. Somehow the witch managed to hack into the transport logs to find out where his next mission would take him, and once he arrived, she would be all over him. Lars had thought it sadly amusing. Trynity couldn't help feeling worried that he would find something in Hilde that was lacking in her. He never did, but that didn't stop Hilde from trying. Trynity didn't need to be psychic to know what her game was now. Trynity refused to play! Duo was nothing to her! Nothing!

Then why couldn't she concentrate on her patients? After that short break, she didn't have a moment's peace as they kept arriving at her temporary office in the colony infirmary. Trynity knew she was being downright foolish to think about Duo's "date", but she couldn't help it. There was still so much unresolved between them, and she didn't want Hilde tangling herself into the muddle. What would she do if Duo now preferred Hilde?

There was no possible way for her to leave the infirmary at a reasonable time, and when the last patient had gone, she was on her way out the door when she was confronted by a heavily pregnant woman half-hysterical because she was going into labor early. Trynity did not leave her until she was comfortably settled in the infirmary, the crisis momentarily abated. By that time it was very late and Trynity had missed dinner again. On the way out, she stopped in the cafeteria, which was deserted and purchased a sandwich from a vending machine. The bread was a little stale and the meat dry, so she tossed it in the trash. She debated stopping for a drink, but she didn't like to go into a canteen or a bar alone, so she returned to Heero and Relena's home. 

It was very late, so she quietly went to her room, changed, and throwing on a silky pink dressing gown Relena had given to her over her black negligee, she walked out to kitchen. The cook and staff were gone, so she scrounged in the refrigerator to her heart's content and managed to find leftover roast, so she made herself a sandwich, poured a glass of wine, then headed back to her room.

She was passing through the salon when the door slid open and she froze when Duo stepped in. At first he didn't see her in the dim light, and she considered dashing for her room, but Trynity wasn't a coward.

"You were out late." She tried to sound light-hearted, but wondered if she sounded like a jealous shrew.

Duo turned his head toward the sound of Trynity's voice. He didn't want this now! He had spent the evening fighting off Hilde's hands. She had made it quite clear what she wanted from the moment they sat down to dine at an elegant restaurant. They might just as well have been at some low-life dive. He had decided to give her what she wanted, thinking he might enjoy it more believing it might hurt Trynity even just a little, but as the evening progressed and she bragged about her on-going affair with Lars Nelson behind his unsuspecting wife's back, Duo lost any interest in her. He suspected she was lying; Trynity wasn't that stupid. 

Seeing her now in a silly, clinging pink garment that did little to hide her curves, Duo knew Lars wasn't that stupid either. From what Stryfe had said of his father in the last few days when Duo had the young man nipping at his heels like a lost puppydog, Lars had been devoted to his wife and children. Duo reminded himself that he had left Trynity, not the other way around. So why did he still feel the ache of betrayal? 

He felt foolish staring at her, and the smile was fading from her lips, lips he wanted to kiss despite everything that had happened. "You weren't waiting up, were you?" Stupid! Where had that little taunt come from?

To his annoyance, she laughed and took a drink from her glass of wine. "I just returned myself."

Who had she been with? During his week at the infirmary, he had seen and heard enough to know any doctor, young or old, was more than just a little interested in Dr. Nelson. Did she finally give in to that pompous ass surgeon? "I hope you had a good time."

Her brows wrinkled for a moment, then she shrugged. "I suppose so. I'm a little out of practice, but those kinds of things I couldn't forget."

What did that mean? She was looking at him with that little lift of her arched bows as if she were jerking him and he knew she was. "Some emergency at the infirmary?"

She took another drink from the wine. Was he making her nervous? Looking at her was certainly starting to have an effect on him. He hadn't had thoughts like this in many years, and he wasn't sure what kind of self-control he possessed. What was she wearing under that flimsy pink garment? Did he see black? The thought of what she might be wearing almost made him groan. He didn't need this distraction!

"I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow," he forced himself to say. "In another day we will be leaving." He started forward, but he hesitated when he realized he would have to walk near her to get to the hallway leading to the guest suites, then forced his feet to move. 

He almost made it past her, despite the heat he felt from her, the faint scent of roses from her perfume mingling with a scent that was Trynity. But she put out her hand to touch his arm, and he stopped abruptly before she could complete the motion. If she touched him, he might lose control despite the self-discipline he had learned in his training as an imperial guard.

"We haven't spoken at all, Duo."

"It's late." Duo wanted to get away. "And there is nothing to say."

Trynity half turned away, and he watched as she set down the plate with her sandwich and then drained the glass of wine before placing it on a table. He watched every movement of her body, thought that in the past he would have dragged her down to the couch or floor by now, and she would have enjoyed it. Was she teasing him?

His thoughts were becoming so centered on one thing that he was unprepared for the sharp slap she delivered to his face. That first slap seemed to awaken him, and the second, made him completely forget what he was thinking.

"There is something to say, Duo Maxwell. And I am the one who is going to say it. I'll never forgive you for what you did!"

Although his cheeks were stinging, he didn't rub them. "I didn't ask for your forgiveness," he said. Damn! His face felt numb! In all these years she certainly could still pack a wallop.

"You _should_ be begging for my forgiveness!" She put her hands on her hips and leaned toward him. "You can't begin to imagine how I felt that day!"

"No, I honestly can't. By my calculations, you must have hit the sack with Lars that night, considering Stryfe and Quynn's age."

"You are an ass!" But her face was turning a shade darker, doubtless from shame.

He started to walk away.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "You have never given me an explanation! Certainly not in that sorry excuse of a note you left behind."

"I didn't have time to say what I wanted…" 

"You lying bastard! You planned to ditch me probably before we even left L10!"

"That's not true!" Duo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Do you think I wanted to be separated from you? I did what I did _for you_. I wanted you to get a good start in your career without me holding you back. What did you do with my sacrifice? You let Nelson screw you and your future."

She balled her hand into a fist, but he was ready to evade her punch. Trynity didn't swing. She glared at him, took a deep breath, then relaxed. "I'm sorry. I thought we knew each other, but I guess you didn't know what I wanted for my future, and I didn't realize what a disaster we would have been together. I owe you thanks, Duo Maxwell."

He narrowed his eyes. Was this a trick? She seemed rather calm. "Why should you thank me?"

"Because you enabled me to have a life you couldn't even possibly dream of." She picked up her sandwich and left the room without another word.

Duo watched her disappear into the darkness, and he thought briefly of his constant nightmares. If only this was another he could wake up, and this time he might let Shamara take away the pain forever. But his wasn't a dream or a nightmare. The reality was that she was brutally honest, and he deserved every recrimination. 

He dropped onto the couch and covered his face with his hands.

"She's right."

Duo didn't bother looking. "Not now, Relena."

Relena sat on the couch beside him and put her arm around his shoulders. He might have shoved her away if he didn't need some comfort. "Well, she's had her say. Maybe now you two can start to move forward." 

"There is no forward for us, Relena. I don't understand Trynity. She didn't become what I had expected."

"You didn't even know her, Duo. I don't think any of us did. Deep inside she wanted to help people, and her very short career in physics didn't do anything to satisfy that need." Relena reached down to take his hand, and he felt something warm drop into his palm. "Perhaps she will some day take this back from you. But you have to get to know her as she is now, not as she was back then."

Relena stood and left him alone.

Duo reached into his palm and lifted a gold chain from which dangled a small golden scythe. His instinct was to cry, but he pushed it back. He had shed enough tears. He had to move on with his life.

When he entered his room, he heard the soft sighs of his sleeping companions. Taeron was sitting with his back propped against the wall, sword in his hand while Shamara was sprawled on the sofa, her head almost on the floor, her legs draped over the back. 

Suddenly he snorted with laughter. Taeron started, the sword clattering as it fell to the floor, and Shamara rolled off the couch, cursing when her head bumped a coffee table set near the couch.

"My lord!" gasped Taeron as he fumbled for his weapon.

"Don't bother, Taeron. Had I been an actual assassin, I think I would have been able to dispose of you by now."

"I beg your forgiveness!"

"Screw it! Get some sleep. No one is going to attack here. And Shamara, if you insist on sleeping like that, you are going to get a headache.""

She rubbed her head. "I already have one."

Duo tossed aside his tunic and lay on the bed. Trynity was wrong. He could dream of a life such as she had. He almost had it. Shamara was like his own daughter, and Taeron, well Taeron might as well be his son. 

He felt Shamara's touch to his cheek. "You are calm," she remarked as she settled beside him. "You have never been this calm."

There was a moment of silence before Taeron remarked, "The floor is uncomfortable."

Duo chuckled. "I was wondering when you were going to notice that. Go ahead and sleep on the couch."

"I didn't like the couch anyway," said Shamara.

Taeron settled on it. "This is much better."

Duo was still smiling as he closed his eyes. He was still holding the necklace Relena had returned to him.

Shamara kissed his cheek, then whispered in his ear. "I hear her in my heart. She is crying."

He opened one eye to look at Shamara. "Maybe you should concentrate on listening a little more closely for Prince Dagan instead of meddling in my life."

She turned away from him without further comment.

In a couple of days they would leave in search of the Bayman ship. Once he had concluded that business, he decided that he would come back to Trynity. Somehow he would make amends. 

"Do you think she can ever love me again?" he asked Shamara softly.

She didn't respond. 

Duo turned on his side to look at the princess. "Shamara?"

When Shamara opened her eyes, she found herself standing in a forest. There was a strange reddish-yellow glow from above, rays of the sun through a red tinted sky. The foliage was dark green, the trees tall, the grass short and soft, like a thick carpet. A mist blanketed the forest. She knew it was a dream and that she could easily leave it, but something or someone seemed to call her here. The forest was eerily quiet. She expected something to happen.

The call of a bird turned her attention upwards, and she watched as an eagle soared high, then dived downwards, straight for her. Shamara did not move except to raise her arm, and the fierce bird gently landed. With her other hand she smoothed its feathers. She wondered if its appearance had some meaning.

The howl of a wolf made the bird snap its head about, feathers ruffling. Shamara looked in the direction from which came the howl. The air seemed to grow heavy, and she could see that the bird was nervous, but it did not fly away. Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes, and Shamara held her breath as a huge wolf crashed through. It came to within a foot of Shamara, lowered its head and bared its long fangs. Unafraid, Shamara merely watched it, not moving. The eagle spread its huge wings and took flight, and the wolf bounded after it.

"That was very brave," she heard a man's voice. "Or very stupid."

She turned her head. Standing where the wolf had been was a young man. He was handsome, with dark hair and eyes, and he was dressed in dark clothing. Although he had the appearance of someone sinister, she did not feel any evil emanating from him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. She thought she should know him, but she couldn't quite recall where she had seen him before.

"I should be asking you that." His brown eyes seemed to melt her as he looked her over from top to bottom. "I have seen you elsewhere, and yet I do not know you."

Strange that they should have the same thoughts. "You are in my dream."

"Interesting. You are in mine. Rather, mine is not a dream. The gods have sent me here."

Shamara could not resist laughing. "You think the gods are responsible?"

His brows drew together. "Do you doubt me?"

She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing again about his seriousness. This was just a dream. But she still wondered where her mind had conjured such an attractive man. "Don't let me keep you from your quest."

"A quest!" He seemed to like that idea. "Yes, the gods have sent me on a quest. I do not know what you could possibly have to do with it."

"I am only dreaming," she reminded him. "When I awaken, my part in your quest will be at an end."

"There is a evil to be slain," he said, ignoring her comment. 

"I suppose that is a worthy quest. Do you have…"

He drew a long, nasty sword. "I have a weapon."

She looked at his weapon skeptically especially at how he was handling it. "I doubt you know how to use it."

He sheathed the sword again, then held out his hand. "The gods have sent you, so you must join me in my quest."

Shamara looked at his hand. "I will be gone when my dream ends."

"My quest will continue after you leave."

With a shrug, she slipped her hand into his, and she felt a jolt run straight to her toes. He felt it too, because he quickly released her and stumbled back.

"What magic is that?" he demanded as he ran a shaking hand through his hair.

Shamara was trembling from the after effect. "Who are you?" But she sensed deep inside his identity.

"Dagan, heir of Bayman."

This was Dagan!? Shamara shook her head. No, this was not possible! She didn't remember Dagan looking like this, and yet her senses told her otherwise. She had once touched Dagan, and once touched, she would never forget his essence. 

"You are Shamara," he stated.

"How do you know?" Of course he would know! This was _her_ dream he was in. Besides, he must have gained the knowledge through her own ill-controlled powers.

There was a roar behind them in the dark forest. Dagan drew his sword and stepped in front of Shamara. "I will protect you, princess."

"I am not really the type of princess that requires a great deal of protection," she said matter-of-factly. Just the same, she moved close to him and put her hands on his arm. This was nice, she thought as she touched the hard muscles. The real Dagan was probably weak and flabby because he did nothing but entertain his women and enjoy his position as his father's heir. The Dagan of her dreams was strong and warm. He smelled of leather and spice, and something that was uniquely him. What would it be like to be held in his strong arms, to feel his lips on hers?

"Princess, I can't concentrate when you have such thoughts."

Shamara let her hands drop. Drats! She had betrayed herself. "I am sorry." Yet if he did kiss her, she wouldn't mind running her fingers through his thick dark hair. She had never been kissed, except by her family members and she had noted that her parents seemed to enjoy the activity. Shamara knew it often lead to other activities…She didn't really know what they were. No one seemed to want to enlighten her despite her investigations.

"By the gods! Stop thinking such things!" Dagan glanced back at her. "If you want me to kiss you, I will do so, but after the danger has passed."

She looked down at her hands. They hadn't been touching him. "How did you know…?" She didn't get a chance to finish her question because there was suddenly a loud crack and a crash as a tree tumbled down in front of them. From out of the depths of the forest burst a gigantic beast. Shamara had never seen anything like it in her life! More than five times the size of Dagan, it had huge, club-like arms extending to hands that were claws, a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. Green ooze sizzled the grass as it dripped on the ground, and three eyes were positioned evenly around its head so that it could see everywhere at once.

"What is it?" she cried as she clutched Dagan's arms.

"Perhaps you could tell me, since it is _your_ dream, princess."

Shamara's retort was lost when the beast roared and swung its arm, slicing out its claws. Dagan dived to the side, dragging Shamara with him. She landed on top of him, but he immediately rolled them both to safety as the monster stomped a foot down where they had been.

Dagan tossed Shamara even further away, then leapt agily to his feet and after ducking another swipe, swung out his sword to slice the monster's leg. The monster screamed in agonized, angry pain, then struck out at Dagan again. He barely managed to avoid it, then threw out his sword in a desperate move that managed to cut the beast's other leg. Shamara could feel evil coming from the beast, and she knew of one sure way to end this fight. 

She closed her eyes and willed the dream to be over.

But when she opened them again, she saw the monster threw back its head and she realized it was gathering up those grotesque juices to use on the unprotected Dagan. Shamara took a deep breath, but her hands to her heart, then threw out her arms. Just as the beast spewed, a white bubble formed around Dagan and the juices instantly dissolved.

Dagan then fell back onto the ground and the forest was filled with the screams of rage of the beast. As Shamara's protection wore away and she dropped to her knees weakly, the monster threw itself at Dagan in another effort to kill.

Dagan put up his own hands, Shamara thought to futilely protect himself, but suddenly from those hands came a blast of light, and from which she had to shield her eyes. When she was able to see again, she saw the beast lying motionless on its back, its body charred and stiff. The air reeked of its burning flesh. Dagan had disappeared. Had he been annihilated by the magic she had seen him use?

Before she could wonder much more, she felt strong arms slip around her and raise her up. Shamara turned her head and found herself looking into Dagan's dark eyes, her face only inches from his. "You saved my life, princess." His head came even closer to hers.

"You saved mine," she said breathlessly, her lips actually brushing his. She was going to faint from the pleasure.

His smile made her insides melt. "I think we both deserve a reward."

"I agree." She tilted her head, preparing to savor her first kiss.

"By the gods, Shamara, wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open and she found herself facing a very haggard, tired and angry Lord Duo. She wanted to scream in frustration.

"Finally!" He lay back, throwing an arm over his eyes. "I hope your dream was worth the aggravation you have put me and Taeron through."

Shamara was deeply embarrassed. Taeron had pulled a pillow over his head, but he peered at her from beneath. "Was…was I noisy?"

Duo didn't look at her. "I think I have heard more than I wanted to."

"Me too," remarked Taeron, his voice muffled under the pillow. "I wasn't sure how I was going to protect you from that man in your dream."

Shamara covered her eyes with her hands. It had seemed so real! Her body was still tingling, both from excitement and fear. Had it been just a dream? Or was there more to it? And what had she said in her sleep?!?

She turned her head and was about to tell Duo about her dream, but she could see that he was already sleeping. Well, maybe it was just a dream, after all. A very bizarre dream.

A very unsatisfying dream.


	8. Amongst the brigands

****

Mars Colony

"That was an impressive show you put on back at that stinking little village."

Dagan didn't look up from the bowl of food he was holding in his hands. One of the men in this gang of brigands had some talent for cooking, so he was looking forward to eating for once. Now he was annoyed to see an insect dive straight into the stew. With disgust, he tossed it aside. A Calabrian would still enjoy eating it. He wasn't a Calabrian.

"So," continued the cretin who had decided to sit near him. "Maybe you could teach me those tricks. Scared the crap out of those people! Scared the crap out of me!"

Dagan glanced at him. The man was grinning at him, showing rotting teeth that must contribute to his foul breath. "It is not a trick. I have been given these powers by the gods." Dagan didn't add that he wondered if his wasteful use of them angered the gods. His dream last night seemed to indicate their displeasure.

There were restless shouts from the men hobbled together with chains. One of the brigands picked up his big club, and as if punishing a recalcitrant dog, he clubbed one of the prisoners. The man fell to the ground, blood streaming from a gash in his head. Dagan looked away. Perhaps it was better for that pitiful man to die out here in the forest than to be dragged beneath the ground to be fed to a boreworm. If he weren't trapped here waiting for an opportunity for Quatre to take him off the planet, Dagan would use his powers to put an end to this despicable practice. But he was trapped and he suspected that Quatre didn't trust him despite his unquestioning obedience to his commands. 

For the last several days he had not even seen Quatre Winner as he traveled with his brigands. He didn't know which was worse; the primitive oafs who did Winner's dirty work or the decadence at Winner's mansion. Dagan didn't care for the filthy women that offered themselves to any man, nor did he indulge in the use of the much in demand drug that seemed to flow freely amongst Winner's men. Although the drug had made him sleep for such a long period that Winner thought he had died, he had none of the reported fantasies, none of the heightened pleasures that these people pursued so relentlessly. 

No, Dagan didn't seem to need a drug for the entertainment they sought. Already two days had passed since his fantastical dream. At least he thought it was a dream, but he still was uncertain and much of his time he spent analyzing what had happened. Who was that beautiful enchantress? Why did she insist that he trespassed on her dream? Could such a woman actually exist? He did not believe it! His master had told him that Dagan was the last of his kind. While he had heard stories that Guerani sorcerers lived on Calabria, he dismissed the rumors as stories told to small children to frighten them. Only the lord rulers of Bayman wielded the powers of the gods!

Yet the woman of his dreams had used some energy to save his life against the creature that had attacked. He did not for a moment believe she was Princess Shamara, heiress of the Calabrian Empire. The princess could _not_ be a sorceress! All that he had heard was she was spoiled and pampered by her powerful father, not that she had powers equal to his own. And yet she bore some resemblance to the girl he had met so briefly over two years ago. 

"Mount up!" shouted the brigand leader, a hefty beast Dagan knew as Magnar the Cruel. He was a filthy man who lived up to the reputation of his name. Standing well over a head taller than all of them, he did not have to worry about insubordination or rebellion. His arms were huge with muscles hewn from using the battle-ax he preferred to use to hack away at old men, women and children. Magnar was not above killing his own men if he was angered. This was the sword arm of Quatre Raberba Winner. 

"Wizard, mount your animal." Magnar was glaring at him from beneath bushy dark brows. Dagan knew that Magnar distrusted him. This morning he had been furious that the blast from Dagan's performance had left so much smoke that many of the women and children and some of the men had escaped the carnage. The foolish men who had stayed behind to defend their homes had been captured. Didn't they realize that life was more important that the pathetic hovels?

Now was not the time to anger Magnar further. Dagan still had not perfected his powers to use fast enough against a man like him. He still had to have time to focus his power, and if he tried to use it on Magnar, he knew the hairy swine would hack off his head before he had a chance. So he hopped on the back of the horse-like beast that would carry him. The horned animal was an abomination of nature. While it carried men, it was still wild and often uncontrollable, and its taste for meat instead of grains often lead it into a hunt after some stray animal against the commands of its rider. 

"This man is holding the rest up."

Dagan turned to look at the prisoners. The one who had been clubbed could not walk. Dagan had to turn his head to keep from seeing the tortured look in his eyes. The man had lost his home, his family and now his life. The injustice made his stomach churn.

"Cut him loose." Magnar nudged his beast forward, and with a swing of his mighty ax, the prisoner's suffering was at an end. "Now let's go. We will reach the mine in Sector 7821 before sunset."

Magnar jerked his animal away from the body it was already beginning to graze upon. Dagan's own mount tried to disobey his commands to get a few bites, but Dagan put his hand on the rough coat of the animal and transferred enough of his power to make it respect its rider.

"Ride beside me, Wizard Kael."

Dagan did as ordered. Although he wouldn't have to hear or see the prisoners far to the back, he did have to take shallow breaths so not to gag from the stench rising from the unwashed Magnar. 

"In a few days we will go to the south where there is a village to be used for the mine in Sector 7824. Word of your powers should have reached them. I do not want a repeat of what I saw, or rather was unable to see, today. Some of the men escaped, and I wanted one or two of those women to amuse myself." Magnar's dark eyes were on Dagan's face. "You don't approve."

"Since when was my approval important?" Dagan turned his head to avoid his rotting breath. 

"In the next village, you should take a woman." Magnar laughed. "Perhaps it would make you more powerful."

Powerful enough to kill you? But Dagan didn't respond. He wasn't about to prey upon the poor wretched females of this planet. Dagan wondered if the females on Calabria had been so similarly abused because Ryana had complained about their lower than low status on the other planet, something Emperor Trey had been reported to have changed. 

They reached the mining town before sunset, and the prisoners were lead beneath the ground almost immediately. The mine manager was glad to see them. Production at his mine was low because the boreworms were hungry. The manager hadn't even looked at the men he was sending to a gruesome death. Only the males were rounded up because the women were necessary to produce more and the children didn't satisfy the hunger of the creatures. The barbarous people on this planet disgusted Dagan. 

There was a canteen at the mining town, so Dagan reluctantly joined the other men to get something to eat. The food was passable, but Dagan was so hungry he wouldn't complain even if an insect did land in his bowl. There were plenty of women, displaced from their homes by the brigand raids. These women were so destitute that they no longer cared that they were providing a service for the same men who had murdered their fathers, husbands and sons. Dagan was so disgusted by the sight of their activities with the brigands that he left the canteen with his food. 

The streets were dark, but he could see where he was going by light from the buildings around. He needed rest far from the evil taint of the people on this planet. What purpose did the gods have in showing him this? If they were telling him to make no alliances with the human species, they couldn't do so more eloquently.

Dagan slipped into an alley, moving to the darkest shadows and sat with his back against the wall. He was eating his food in peace when he heard a noise and his senses became instantly aware of another person in the alley. A female. He could tell by the scent. As she came closer, he could see that she was young, filthy, and painfully thin. He remembered seeing her in the canteen, one of the brigands mauling her. She hadn't protested, even when she had been passed to another. What did she want with him?

"Are you the wizard?"

"If I am?"

"Magnar the Cruel sent me to you."

The food he had just put in his stomach threatened to resurface. "I don't need your services."

She dropped to her knees near him. "I dare not return without doing as ordered." Her thin, cold fingers touched him, and Dagan shuddered with disgust. Even if he wanted to oblige her to save her life from the beast Magnar, Dagan knew he wouldn't be able. 

"He does not need to know," stated Dagan. "I only want some rest. Go to the end of the alley and stay out of sight, but warn me if anyone approaches."

She drew her hands away, and he heard her sigh with relief. "I did not wish to…to…not with a wizard." Her head was turned to what remained of his food. "I…I haven't eaten for days."

Dagan shoved the mostly empty bowl to her along with the roasted fowl he had been given at the canteen. "I suggest you consider some story to tell Magnar about our tryst."

She scurried away like a rat and was crouching in the shadows at the end of the alley eating the food so fast he thought she would choke. She barely paused to breathe, and soon enough the bowl was empty, licked clean. Dagan closed his eyes from the sight. Gods, there wasn't a decent human being alive. They were all filthy animals.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the forest, but the sun was shining through the thick foliage. How did he get here? Something was licking his hand, and he looked down to see the wolf that had been in his last dream. Dagan stared into the wolf's eyes and saw that it was not dangerous, so he petted its head. He must be having another dream. Dagan dared not hope that the Princess Shamara of his dream would make another appearance in this one. Magnar had rudely awakened him before he could have a satisfactory conclusion to his other dream. Anyway, he would much rather have the experienced Oxana appear in his dreams.

A bird's cry drew his attention upwards, and Dagan looked up to see an eagle soaring overhead. The wolf bounded away, and Dagan followed it eagerly, sure that he would be lead to her. They seemed to run for hours through the thick vegetation before they came to a clearing. The beautiful enchantress sitting on the bank of a stream kicking her bare feet in the water was not his devoted Oxana. The eagle landed nearby on a tree branch and the wolf walked slowly forward, then settled on the grass beneath the tree.

The dark-haired young woman turned to look at him. "You again?"

"You don't seem pleased to see me." Dagan moved forward, then sat on the bank near her. 

"You are not Prince Dagan," she remarked, turning her head to look at him. 

"You could not be Princess Shamara," he returned, looking into her eyes. She was beautiful, and very bold because she stared at him with the same interest he was showing her. "You are a sorceress."

"I am no sorceress," she said, leaning away from him, lowering her lashes. "Although I do have Guerani powers, I am _not_ evil."

Dagan laughed. "The princess of the Calabrian Empire would not be a Guerani!"

"My mother was full-blooded Guerani," she explained. "I am the only one of her children to show any sign of Guerani powers."

He looked down at her hands. The master had told him that their power was in their hands. "I still do not believe such a wild tale."

Her eyes met his again. "Am I to believe Prince Dagan would have dark powers?"

"I have no dark powers!" Dagan was outraged by her accusation.

"The legends say there will one day be a Guerani of dark powers to return to Calabria to re-claim his place among us," she told him. "You must be the one."

Dagan snorted with laughter. "I was hardly on my way to Calabria willingly, and I certainly was not looking to regain any lost heritage. Where did you hear such foolishness?"

"A learned elder told me of his findings shortly before I left Calabria. He has been able to translate old writings from the Guerani hills. Many of the Guerani prophecies foretold have come true. The union of my mother and father was one of those prophecies."

Dagan moved closer to her. "Tell me more, princess. I am intrigued." He was more intrigued by her clean, fresh scent and her clear, creamy skin. She was the loveliest female he had seen in a long time. At this moment, he couldn't even remember the color of Oxana's hair.

She wasn't talking. Instead she was watching him, and it occurred to him that she might know his thoughts. If she did, she didn't reproach him. Dagan leaned away from her.

Suddenly she laughed softly. "No quest today, Prince Dagan? Have the gods not given you a task to perform?"

His task was probably to keep his hands off Princess Shamara. Although this was still just a dream, Dagan knew the gods were watching and judging him.

"That is a very honorable quest." There was laughter in her dark eyes as Shamara stood. Had she heard his thoughts? "There is a pool formed by this stream further down. I am going to bathe. You look as if you need to bathe as well."

Before he could argue, she dashed away with the grace of a gazelle. So she was going to bathe? Did that entail removing her clothing? The mere thought made his heart pound erratically, and he could barely breathe. The eagle took flight, and after only a slight pause, the wolf bounded after it. That was an omen Dagan could recognize.

He found the pool by following the wolf and came upon it just as Shamara slipped into the water. But the sight of her slender back and the pile of clothing she had left on the mossy bank made him so weak that he fell to his knees. If the gods expected him to not touch her, they were indeed very cruel. Her feminine wiles were more powerful than the mightiest swords.

Her dark head disappeared under the water in the large pool, and after a moment she resurfaced and threw back her wet hair. She opened her eyes and looked straight at him. "Won't you join me, Dagan?"

"You are tempting me to defy the gods," he accused her.

She giggled as she twisted and swam away. He could see the length of the back of her body. This was too much! As he pulled off his boots, the wolf howled, but Dagan ignored him. He would teach Princess Shamara how unwise it was to tease grown men. But before he could toss off his shirt, a rippling in the water of the pond drew his attention. The ripple spread out into a wide circle and began to grow larger.

"Shamara, get out of the water!" His senses were awakening his dormant power, warning him of danger. Shamara seemed to realize it also because she was swimming for the nearest bank. But she had been in the middle of the pond, and she hadn't reached the edge before water spewed upwards and a scaly creature emerged. A forked tongue snaked out and wrapped around Shamara's waist as she tried to scramble up the slippery bank. The dragon- like creature jerked her into the air and opened its mouth wide to drag her inside. But Dagan was able to send a blast at its neck that made it rear its head back. Shamara extended her arm, but Dagan could not reach her. 

Suddenly a sword lying amongst her clothing flew into the air and towards her, end over end. She caught it by the hilt just before the creature dragged her beneath the water. There was no way Dagan would be able to attack it if he could not see it. Seizing his own sword, he dived into the murky pool.

At first he couldn't see, but when his eyes came accustomed to the dark, he made out the forms of the serpentine creature and Shamara, tangling in the water, bubbles rising around them. Shamara was stabbing at it with her short sword as the creature tossed its head back and forth, trying to snap her spine. Dagan swam to them as fast as he could and managed to grab of a fin. He sank his own sword into it, then jerked it out to land another blow. To protect itself, it threw Shamara from its mouth then whipped around to find Dagan. Dagan's powers wouldn't work under water, and he was not particularly skilled with a sword, having ignored that facet of his princely training. The gods must intend for him to face his death here.

Shamara appeared over the head of the serpent. Taking her sword with both hands, she drove it downward. He heard the crunch of bone even through the water, and the serpent beast shuddered, threw back its head one last time, then drifted downward, motionless. Dagan watched until he could no longer see it in the black depths of the pond.

Turning, he saw Shamara also drifting and Dagan realized she must have been injured in the monster's last action. Dagan swam swiftly toward her and caught her in his arms. She remained unmoving until they broke the surface of the water when she opened her mouth and drew in a deep breath. Dagan was relieved that she was still alive, and he wasted no time getting to the mossy bank before he rolled onto his back and took his own deep breath. Dagan stared at the reddish yellow sky as he thanked the gods for sparing their lives.

"You are hurt!" Shamara's face appeared above his. She put fingers to his cheekbone and he saw that they came away bloody.

"It is a scratch," he said tiredly.

"I can heal it." She reached out to him again, but Dagan grabbed her wrist.

"You are weak, Shamara, from your fight. Perhaps it is unwise."

Her eyes were looking into his. "I want to help you."

Dagan smiled. "You have done enough. You killed the creature. But I am now convinced that you are not the princess of Calabria. She could not do such a thing."

Shamara tossed back her wet hair. "You know very little of me and Calabria, Prince Dagan. But from what I have seen, I know that the stories about you are true, that you have neglected your training for frivolous pursuits. My mother was an imperial guard, and I have been trained in the art of weaponry. My masters have praised my progress while I can see that you are obviously the shame of your own sword master."

Her boasting almost made him laugh. "Do you realize, princess, that you are naked?"

Her eyes flew downwards, and she shrieked and seemed to sprout more than two hands as she tried to cover herself. Dagan burst into laughter. When she tried to dash for her clothing, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her down onto her back. He couldn't resist teasing her a bit, but when he covered her body with his, his mind cleared of almost everything but the pleasure he felt as her curves pressed against him.

"My Guerani princess, you have cast a spell on me," he said softly as he leaned close to her. Nothing was going to stop him from kissing her this time. 

She seemed to be thinking the same because she lifted her head to meet him. Her soft, sweet lips were more potent than any drug. Nothing existed around them as he kissed her, not the wind in the trees, not the screeching of the eagle, not the howling of the wolf. Dagan put his hands on the ground on either side of his head to keep them from doing things to her that might spoil the innocent pleasure of this moment.

Her fingers glided along his back over his wet shirt, and he realized she was pulling the sopping cloth upward to touch his skin. He could read her thoughts clearly, that she wanted more than this kiss, and Dagan wasn't about to be so noble to refuse her.

But the wolf was growling, and Dagan remembered the gods.

He jerked away from Shamara. "You make me forget myself, princess!"

Not caring that she was naked anymore, she smiled as she closed her eyes and stretched. Dagan had to look away from the tempting sight. "Put on your clothing, princess."

"Why? Do I offend you, Dagan?"

He gritted his teeth. "Put on your clothing." He turned away, and after she made a sound of annoyance, he could hear the rustle of her clothing. "If you are the princess, your imperial parents would be ashamed of you."

"Ha! My father expects me to return to Calabria a married woman. I would guess he doesn't care if we indulge in our pleasures before or after we have said any vows. Now I am ready to discover just what those pleasures are."

"I am not going to marry you," Dagan told her without turning around. "There is another woman that I love."

"Only one?" she asked, her tone sarcastic.

Dagan turned around to look at her. The clothing was clinging to her wet body and he caught himself wondering what it would be like to peel it off. Like the skin of a sweet fruit that he would savor slowly.

Shamara sniffed. "For a man who loves another woman, you think of touching me quite frequently."

"You think just as frequently of the same," he accused her; annoyed that she could read his thoughts. Apparently it was not a trick he could perform exclusively.

"You should take off your clothing," she said.

Dagan gasped. "We are not going to…"

"As much as _you_ would like to, Prince Dagan, we are not going to do anything. But your clothing is wet, and you will catch a chill."

"I'm not going to get sick. This is a dream," he reminded her.

"Is it?" Her brows were raised.

"I can awaken at any time."

Shamara came to him. She was warm while he was beginning to feel a chill from his wet clothing. "If it is just a dream, then why should it matter what we do?" She took the bottom of his shirt and began to drag it upwards. His skin seemed to burn where her fingers touched him.

Despite his resolve, Dagan lowered his head so she could pull his shirt off. "You are playing with fire, princess."

She ran her hands over his chest. "I don't mind a little heat."

He put his hands around her waist and pulled her against him. "You are going to get burned."

Shamara slid her hand around his neck and pulled his head down to hers. "This is only a dream," she whispered against his lips before she pressed hers to his.

Dagan was so lost in the pleasure of her kiss and feeling her hands running over his bare skin that the voice he heard seemed to be coming from many miles away. He shook his head and raised it, only to find himself in the alley, the wretched woman clinging to him, trying to pull his head back down.

"So, you decided to follow my suggestion, wizard."

Dagan jerked his head from the woman and saw Magnar standing over them. He couldn't respond. The woman was wiggling on his lap, and he dared not breathe in the stench from both her and the repulsive leader of the brigands. 

Magnar suddenly frowned. "Woman, what did you do to my wizard?"

Magnar's eyes were on his face, and Dagan became aware of a warm trickle down his cheek. He reached up and felt a gash on his head.

The woman scrambled away from him, but Magnar caught her arm. "I did nothing, I swear! I did nothing."

"You will regret your foolishness!"

Although Dagan was stunned, he dragged himself weakly to his feet. He felt strangely chilled. "Stop! I…I must have bumped my head in my…my eagerness."

Magnar responded by throwing back his head in laughter. "If she can make you that impatient, she must be a good lay. Come, woman, and show me what you did for the wizard."

She didn't protest as he dragged her away. Good riddance. His flesh felt filthy from where she had touched him.

Dagan reached up to touch his cheek, noting that it was where Shamara had tried to touch him to use healing powers.

Had it been only a dream?


	9. Trynity helps the Calabrians

****

Governor's Residence, L12

This was the last place Duo wanted to be at three o'clock in the morning, but he really had no choice. Despite the urgency, he was finding it near impossible to raise his hand and press the button. If it weren't a life or death problem, he would just go back to bed, but he had no choice.

He pressed the button. There was silence in the dark hall. Duo couldn't even hear the noise the thing made inside the room. He pressed it again. Maybe the damn thing didn't work!

Lifting his hand to knock on the door, he stopped himself just as the door slid open. Trynity leaned against the door frame, her eyes half closed, her hair in her face, and the makeup she hadn't taken off was smeared. When did she start wearing makeup and why? Didn't she realize she was beautiful without it?

"You look like hell," he couldn't keep himself from remarking.

She raised her head to look at him, then drew together her silly pink dressing gown. That garment had to be Relena's idea. "I wasn't expecting to entertain. What do you want?"

"I need you." That didn't come out right. Damn!

Trynity raised her brows. Before she could make a smart remark, he rushed on. "Shamara is ill."

"Come in and fill me in while I get dressed." She disappeared back into her room.

Duo was hesitant to follow, but as he did Trynity passed into another room, probably a dressing room or bathroom if it were designed anything like the suite he occupied. He couldn't see her although she had turned on a light. Duo turned politely away just in case.

"What are her symptoms?" Trynity asked, and he could hear the rustle of the clothing she was putting on.

"She was tossing in her sleep, and when I tried to wake her up, she didn't respond. Her Guerani dreams can be quite vivid to her. But now she is breathing strangely and she is burning with a fever, and I haven't been able to wake her." Duo was afraid for her life. If anything happened to her, he would never be able to live with it. She was more his daughter than Taeron was his son.

Trynity came out of the dressing room carrying a small case. "When did her symptoms start?"

"I don't know. About half an hour ago. I came here as soon as we realized we couldn't help her. Taeron is bathing her with cool water."

He followed Trynity down the hall to his own suite. Once the door opened, Shamara's piteous moaning struck him like an arrow to the heart. She was in agony and there was nothing he could do for her. Despite her writhing on the bed, Taeron was trying to apply a cool compress to her perspiring forehead.

Trynity set aside her case and went to Shamara's side. "Did she eat anything strange? She seems to be feeling some pain in her stomach."

Duo noticed that Shamara seemed to be favoring her midsection. "No. We all ate the same." Relena tried to offer food similar to what she remembered from her trip to Calabria, but she drew the line at having beetles and grubs served at the governor's table. Taeron and Shamara absolutely refused to eat breads, cereals and meats, so their diet consisted mainly of fruits and vegetables.

"Out of practice," added Taeron. "She does not eat unless I partake of the same."

Trynity looked at him. "You are doing well to keep her cool. Keep doing so. I will look at her stomach. If she protests, you will have to hold her down."

Taeron nodded solemnly.

Duo came forward to help them and watched as Trynity gently touched Shamara's belly. The princess cried out in such pain that Duo's toes curled. "What is it?"

"I will have to look." Trynity reached down to pull up her garment. When she gasped, Duo craned his neck to see what had shocked her and he was horrified. Her midsection was darkly bruised, and there appeared to be two huge punctures from which oozed a noxious fluid.

"What the hell is that?!" exclaimed Duo.

"Looks as though she has been bitten," commented Trynity matter-of-factly, having regained her composure.

"Bitten!" Taeron dropped the compress in his hand. "I…I should not have fallen asleep!"

Duo looked closer at the wound. "I think whatever has done that would have awakened the entire household, Taeron. This is not your fault."

"My lord! I am to protect her!"

Trynity looked at him. "You cannot enter her trances, Taeron."

A Guerani trance! Duo should have realized what was going on! "How can this be? Shamara has never done it before. She has entered dreams, but a trance is far different."

"Regardless," said Trynity as she now probed at the nasty punctures, prompting Shamara to moan even louder, "she has apparently tangled with a creature in a trance." She lifted her fingers to smell the ooze from the wound. "Venom. I don't even have to test it to know from what." 

Duo watched Trynity leave Shamara and go to her case. "Unfortunately, I did lose one patient to that particular species, but the bright side to the loss was that I was able to develop a simple serum so that any who did manage to survive its attack could be cured of the poisons."

"What are you talking about?" Duo couldn't imagine what could have done such a thing to Shamara. "The teeth of such a thing would have to be…"

"Trust me, you don't want to meet up with it." Trynity returned to Shamara with a syringe, and she quickly stuck the needle in and emptied the contents in her. She then looked at Duo. "There are many creatures on Mars that defy logic. This particular serpent lives in the depths of the bodies of water and occasionally surfaces to snatch a meal from any foolish animal swimming in its habitat."

Duo stared at her incredulously. "That thing lives on Mars? Are telling me it is not some beast conjured up in her trance or dream or whatever is going on?"

"Regrettably, yes, it does live on Mars." She returned to her case and put away the syringe and bottle of antidote.

"She seems to be feeling better," spoke up Taeron.

Duo turned his attention back to Shamara whose movements were less erratic now. Her lashes began to flutter, so Duo went to her side and smoothed back her moist hair. "Are you with us, princess?"

At first she didn't seem to recognize him, then a weak smile curved her lips. "Lord Duo, I had an incredible dream." She turned her head. "Taeron, why do you look so upset?"

Taeron took her limp hand. "I thought you were going to die, princess!"

"Die?" She noticed Trynity. "Why is she here?"

"You were very ill," answered Trynity. "I will give you the same warning I give my patients. Do not swim in natural pools. They are the habitat of some very dangerous creatures." She took Shamara's wrist, and after a moment she nodded. "You should be like new in a few hours." 

Duo watched her leave the room, then looked at Shamara. "Just what were you doing?" He was furious now that the danger had passed.

She stared at him wide-eyed. Unfortunately, that innocent look failed to work on him any better than it did her father. "I…I was dreaming."

"That was no dream!"

Shamara sat up as much as she could to look at the wound. She put her hand on it for a moment, and Duo watched with fascination, as a glowing, pulsing light appeared that obscured it from view. After several seconds, Shamara fell back weakly against the pillows, and he saw that the wound was nothing more than a faint red mark.

Taeron gasped. "Princess, I knew that you have such powers, but to see them is truly amazing."

"You need to rest," said Duo. 

She smiled at him. "Aren't you afraid I am going to dream again?"

Duo didn't return her smile. "You wouldn't be so foolish, would you?"

She closed her eyes. "I had such a wondrous time!"

"Shamara! You were almost killed!"

Shamara opened one eye to look at him. "I wasn't killed!"

"Princess," implored Taeron, taking her hand and bringing it to his heart. "Please do not endanger yourself with such activities. You have always been like a sister to me."

"I don't think I could face your father to tell him that you got yourself killed in a fantasy," commented Duo.

Shamara looked from Taeron to him. "Lord Duo, I am sure that gods have a reason to take me to that place."

"You can discuss in great length with your mother and her brother when we return to Calabria. Now just get some sleep and we will still be able to leave tomorrow afternoon."

Shamara sighed and closed her eyes again. "I will sleep, Lord Duo. By the way, did you thank the healer?"

"Thank the…?" Had Duo forgotten to thank Trynity? His stomach muscles clenched at the thought of returning to her room. "I…I…"

Shamara's lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Give her my thanks, while you are at it."

"This is ridiculous!" burst out Taeron. "I will go to the healer to give her our thanks." He started toward the door, but Duo stepped in front of him.

"Stay with Shamara." Taeron seemed to be resentful of Trynity, and Duo guessed Taeron harbored some hope that Duo might marry his mother and he viewed Trynity as a threat. That was a fantasy he had to realize would never come true.

Taeron dropped back, his head lowered like a beaten dog. "Yes, my lord."

Duo thought he should reassure him, but he couldn't bring himself to give the young man any words of comfort. Taeron wasn't his son, and he had no particularly fond feeling for his mother. Without a word, he turned on his heel and marched out of the room. He approached Trynity's door with even more dread than the first time he had gone to her this night, rather, morning.

This time when he pressed the button, the door opened almost immediately. Trynity was still dressed, and he noticed that she had reapplied her makeup and clipped back her hair.

"You are not going back to bed?" The first words out of his mouth made Duo cringe.

Trynity raised her brow. This time he could not stop her response. "Were you hoping I was?"

"Of course not!" Duo had never felt this nervous in her presence. "I came to thank you for saving Shamara's life. Shamara thanks you also."

Trynity nodded. "You are welcome. I was happy to be of assistance."

She didn't say anything more. Duo didn't know what to say. He didn't dare look at her face, and she wasn't looking at him either. This was far too damn uncomfortable.

"I'll be glad to return to Calabria," he muttered.

Trynity bit her bottom lip, and for a moment it distracted her from her feelings. "As long as I am awake, I am going to the infirmary. I have some work to catch up on and patients I want to visit."

"I won't keep you." He turned and walked away.

Trynity went straight to the door, and she almost made it when she saw what looked like a ghost gliding out of the darkness. After having just dealt with Shamara and her supernatural powers, Trynity's heart jumped and a tingle of fear ran down her spine until she realized it was Relena in some filmy white negligee. 

"Where are you going?" Relena whispered when she reached her.

Trynity sighed. "I am going to the infirmary."

"Are you going to get back in time to at least bid him farewell?" Relena was standing with her hands on her hips.

"He's leaving today?" Trynity shouldn't be surprised, but she was, and just a little hurt that he hadn't spoken to her again for the last two days since their late night encounter.

"Yes! And I think you need to talk to him again."

"We have said all we need to." Trynity turned to the door. "I have to go."

Relena made a sound of disgust. "I didn't really agree with your choice not to tell Duo about your condition when we were on Calabria, but I supported you because you are the best friend I have ever had. But I can't support you now if you let him leave without telling him the truth!"

Trynity ignored her and stepped into the elevator, then pressed the button to close the door. "Butt out, Relena."

A hand stopped the door from closing, and Heero leaned forward. "Don't worry, Trynity, I will make certain that she doesn't get a chance to have a moment alone with Duo."

"Heero! How can you…?"

"It is not our concern!" He took away his hand, and the door closed on their argument. 

Trynity tried to distract herself by thinking of the work she had to do, but her thoughts kept returning to Relena's nagging. What good would it do anyone to drag the skeletons out of the closet? Trynity had no intention of causing upheaval in Quynn and Stryfe's life now when they were getting over the loss of the only man they had known as their father. Not only would they be hurt to discover the truth, but the hurt would double when Duo Maxwell preferred to remain in the Calabrian system. He didn't even show his own son any affection! Quynn and Stryfe deserved better than the indifference with which he treated Taeron.

Fortunately she was kept busy at the infirmary. When she arrived she was called on to help in an emergency, and when she was finally able to take a break, it was already late morning. A stack of files sat on the edge of her desk, and her nurse informed her that the waiting room was full. Another doctor left before lunch, feeling sick himself, so Trynity was forced to take some of his patients as well. Stryfe stopped by to take her to lunch, but she had to settle for a sandwich he dropped off later. He told her he was planning to see the Calabrians off and reminded Trynity of the time of their departure. Trynity decided to give in and at least say good-bye in person. That was more than Duo had done for her.

After Stryfe left, she was finishing her sandwich when her telecom buzzed. Trynity waited for the nurse to take the call, and when she didn't, she checked the log to see that it was coming from Earth. Now she understood why the nurse let it go through.

"What do you want, father?" she asked even before Ivan Stryfe's face appeared on the screen.

"Trynity! Why do I have to learn such important news from a news report? Can't my own daughter let me know what is going on?" Her father looked furious.

Trynity sighed. "I don't suppose you are talking about the wormhole?"

"Who gives a damn about the wormhole? I am talking about Duo Maxwell returning!"

She started drumming her fingers on the desk as she looked straight at him. "What is so important about that?"

"Dammit, Trynity, he is the father of your children! I want to know how that space rat reacted when you told him!"

Trynity looked away.

He wasn't as dense as she thought. "You didn't tell him?! What the hell is going through your head?"

Trynity cleared her throat. Why did he make her so nervous? "I don't think this is any of your concern."

"None of my concern?" He was outraged. She could easily cut off his transmission, but then he might just contact Duo, and that she didn't want.

"I am sorry, father, I didn't mean that. Duo is returning to Calabria today, in a few hours, in fact. He has responsibilities."

"Well, I'm glad he understands the word 'responsibility.'" Dr. Stryfe glared at her. "Do _you_ understand that word?"

"Of course I do! I have a responsibility to my children. I don't want to mess up their lives, father."

"You mean that you don't want to mess up your perfect life? I am ashamed of you! You didn't give Duo Maxwell a chance to be a man seventeen years ago because you were so afraid he would reject you, and now you are refusing to tell him what he has a right to know because you are afraid your children will reject you."

"Go to hell!" Trynity was so angry that she was shaking. "How dare you say such a thing to me! Maybe I wouldn't have such fears if _you_ hadn't rejected _me_ in the first place! Good bye father!" She slammed the button to the telecom with her fist. She was surprised it didn't break.

Almost an hour passed before she was calm enough to see more patients. By that time several with minor complaints had left after talking to the nurse. Trynity came to the conclusion that perhaps everyone was right. She would tell Duo, and if he wanted to be part of Quynn and Stryfe's life, he could return and then Trynity would tell her children. But she wasn't going to say anything to them unless Duo wanted it. 

When the last patient was on the way out the door Trynity still had fifteen minutes to get to the spaceport. That was cutting it close, but she didn't need much time to say what she had to say. But before she could get away, a frantic man caught her at the door and begged her to attend his wife who had gone into labor. Trynity had helped the woman settle in at the hospital a few nights ago and remembered her immediately. The woman's husband explained that his wife didn't trust any of the other doctors, and despite her resolve to speak to Duo, Trynity had to put her patient's needs above her own. If Duo returned from Calabria, she would tell him. Perhaps it was better this way. 

The woman didn't give birth until the following morning. Delivering babies usually filled Trynity with energy and a sense of purpose. But this time she was depressed to the point of tears and was glad to get to her room at Relena's home. Relena made some small talk and didn't bring up Duo's departure. Quynn made an off-hand remark about how she was going to miss Taeron, that she had just started to know him. That gave Trynity something to think about. Quynn had seemed attracted to Taeron when they first arrived, then suddenly the attraction dissolved. Was it just her mercurial nature or did it have something to do with Shamara touching her?

After a good night's sleep, Trynity felt better, but not much. Everyone was gone except Heero who was reading a report as he sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He didn't look up. "I'm sorry you were caught at the infirmary. Duo was hoping to see you again."

"Did he say so?" Trynity couldn't believe it.

"He'd rather drive that sword he hides through his heart than say your name." Heero glanced at her. "But I know he was watching for you."

"I didn't stay away intentionally. I sent a message…" Trynity felt a sudden urge to cry, but she chased it away by burning her mouth with hot coffee.

Heero looked back to his report. "Are you returning to Mars?"

"Tomorrow. I have a few loose ends at the infirmary to take care of." Loose ends. That was all her life was. She sipped more coffee.

"I am recommending a vacation for Quynn, and Stryfe has a few weeks before his training starts. They can both spend it with you. Since they left for the Academy three years ago you haven't had much time with them either."

Trynity wanted to retort that she didn't need baby-sitters, but she was glad she would have company, especially that of her children. "They won't appreciate it. Neither of them approved of our moving to the Mars colony and they don't like visiting it."

"I don't approve of your returning, but I know your mind is made up, Trynity."

"I have to return. I…I feel responsible."

Heero looked at her. "How could you possibly be responsible for the mess Mars became? You could not have known what primitive life forms were waiting to develop, or that it would be so uninhabitable for humans."

"Quatre doesn't seem to mind," she commented, glaring at her coffee. She looked at Heero. "I am convinced he is up to something despicable! I just can't prove it. There is some tie between him at that gorilla, Magnar."

"I wish I could help you, Trynity, but I can't."

"I understand." She sighed. "I had better get to work if I want to finish up in time to leave."

"If you change your mind, there is a place for you with us, Trynity."

She stepped into the elevator, but after a few seconds, she pressed the button to stop it and she put her cool hands to her face as she burst into tears. Her life had never seemed so meaningless as it did now. The Mars colony was a disaster, her father's disapproval still rang in her ears, and her children would hate her if they ever learned the truth.

Worst of all, Duo Maxwell was gone, and she was afraid she would never see him again.


	10. Shamara returns home

****

Cinq Kingdom Space, L12 Sector

"You're not dreaming again, are you, princess?"

Taeron's voice disturbed Shamara from her thoughts, and she turned to look at her imperial guard. He appeared to be worried that she might disappear before his eyes although her body had never left his sight except for the moments she needed to take care of her personal needs. Taeron was taking his job very seriously now. Shamara wondered if he had any sleep the last two days on the ship. Duo was slumped in his chair snoozing, but Shamara couldn't sleep. The next time the wormhole opened, they would be going through, and she knew instinctively that it would be soon.

"I am not dreaming, Taeron." She looked back out to space, dark and quiet now. Soon it would be disturbed by the wormhole, and she might leave this system forever.

"I will be glad to return."

You are the only one, she thought sadly with another sidelong glance at Duo. His heart was in shreds, his emotions in turmoil. She wished she could tell him something that might make him understand the flame-haired woman who turned his life upside down, but Shamara knew she should not meddle in his relationships.

She forced herself to smile and looked at Taeron. "You are doomed to be my imperial guard until I wed. Without a groom, I suppose it will be a long time."

Taeron frowned and rested his chin on his hand, but he didn't respond. Shamara knew he would rather be with Amyr. She couldn't blame him. "Perhaps I can talk my father into releasing you from your oath."

His eyes widened. "Princess! Do not dare speak to him on such a matter! I have given my word to protect you until you take a husband, and I will do so. To do any less would bring dishonor to…to…" His glance strayed to Duo although they both knew he had no right to claim to be a part of Duo's house.

Shamara sighed. She couldn't meddle in that relationship either. So they sat in silence for several moments until Taeron said, "I was afraid Lord Duo would not return with us."

She looked at Taeron. In the depth of his eyes she saw fear and she understood what he was feeling. "I never doubted him."

"I think he wanted that orange-haired woman," grumbled Taeron so quietly that Shamara almost didn't hear him. "My mother will be no man's concubine."

Shamara reached out to touch him, but Taeron jerked his hand back before she could. She should be hurt, but she wasn't. "I am sorry, Taeron."

"You would know everything about me," he said in explanation although his own face was a shade of pink. Taeron was worried about offending her. 

Shamara put her hands to her side. "I would be able to tell you and Lord Duo the truth."

"I know the truth!" Taeron glanced at Duo, then back at Shamara. "My mother would not lie, and she would know who my father is! I am forbidden to speak of it, and she will not take the matter to your father. She would be furious to know I am speaking of this with you."

"Lord Duo must have his reasons for not believing her." Shamara couldn't think of anything else to say. In truth, she thought Taeron resembled Duo, but he seemed to be blind to it. .

"He told my mother he is incapable of siring children."

"Where did he get such a foolish notion?" Shamara had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. This was why he would not acknowledge Taeron?

"His human concubine did not present him with any children."

Shamara glanced at Duo. He was still sleeping deeply. Then she looked back at Taeron. "He doesn't know everything he should. Anyway, if only you would allow me or my mother to touch you, we would be able to tell him the truth. I believe your mother, Taeron, but Lord Duo is a stubborn human. He needs more proof than a woman's word."

"I believe her, and I do not need Guerani magic to tell me what I already know and feel! If he needs more proof, then perhaps he is not worthy to be called my father." Taeron turned away from her to stare belligerently out at space. He was so deeply hurt by Duo's rejection that Shamara wanted to comfort him, but he would be angry if she touched him.

"I see it," Taeron suddenly said.

Shamara looked in the direction he pointed and she also saw the wormhole beginning to open. Taeron changed the course of the ship to take it toward the wormhole and the change caused Duo to wake up. Seeing the cause of the disturbance of his sleep, he ordered Shamara to strap into her seat, and as Taeron did the same, Duo pressed a few buttons which shut down all but the most necessary controls of the ship before buckling into his own seat. 

The ship was dark but for the light of the stars, and Shamara was reminded of their exit from the wormhole. This time they weren't spinning out of control. The gravity from the wormhole would pull them into it, and once they exited from the other side, they would be able to re-establish control of the ship by turning on the power. All they had to do was sit back and wait, and soon she would be back with her family.

Shamara closed her eyes. She wasn't sure she wanted to return just yet.

Something wet slid across her cheek, and her eyes popped open. She found herself eye to eye with an animal, but she wasn't on the ship anymore. Shamara was lying on a grassy ground, stars above her, but the two moons she saw were tiny, not like the greenish-blue, large moons of Calabria. The wolf was still licking her face, but it stopped when the eagle swooped at it. Shamara was relieved when the wolf bounded after the bird and they disappeared into the darkness.

"I wouldn't be so easy to chase away, especially from such an pleasant task."

Shamara sat up and looked into the dark where the voice came from. "Perhaps I prefer the wolf's company."

"I will call it back."

"You don't have any more control over him than I have over the eagle," she retorted. She wished Dagan would step out of the darkness.

"Her."

"Her?"

"The wolf is a female," he informed her as he stepped into the dim light reflecting from the small moons. "Your eagle is a male."

She frowned. "How do you know?"

"The markings. The male bird is always more colorful than the female." He came closer to her. "How do you come to be here? Where are we?"

Shamara stood to face him. "I thought you had drawn me here. I do not know how I am here. Lord Duo says it is a Guerani trance."

Dagan's brows drew together in a frown. "I am no Guerani! Nor do I believe you to be one. Such beings are a myth used by you imperial Calabrians to frighten your ignorant people."

"Do you think we have the same dreams?" she asked, annoyed that he wouldn't believe her. "I almost died from the poisonous bite of the serpent."

Dagan reached up to touch his head and Shamara saw that the wound he had received in their last encounter was healing. "I don't know what is going on. I do know that every time we are together, our lives are in danger, and I am not sure you are worth the risk."

"Then you need not worry much longer. I am returning to Calabria." Shamara crossed her arms and glared at him. "I won't be around to trouble you anymore."

He didn't respond immediately. Silence stretched out between them until Dagan finally said, "You are leaving without me? Are you going to leave me here among these filthy barbarians? You may as well kill me now, Shamara, because it is only a matter of time until they do."

"I do not know where you are," she said. Shamara felt guilty for snapping at him.

"I have heard them call it Mars Colony."

She nodded. "The healer who saved me from the poison said the beast was a creature of that place."

Dagan stared at her in silence for several more moments. Shamara stared back at him until he said, "I cannot ask you to risk coming here to find me. I must find my own way. That is the will of the gods."

"You speak much of the will of the gods!" Shamara blew out her breath in exasperation. "Perhaps it is the will of the gods that I help you! Why else would they bring me here?"

"They brought us both here," he reminded her. "Perhaps you are right. The gods must have a purpose to bring us together in this place."

Shamara laughed. "I hope it is more to my liking than my father's purpose."

"You do not like me?" Dagan seemed affronted. He looked down as if searching for whatever she found distasteful. In fact, Shamara didn't find anything distasteful about Dagan of Bayman in the least, except maybe his attitude. 

She wondered what he thought of her.

"It doesn't matter," he said when she didn't answer his question. "I do not intend to marry you, princess or not."

Shamara felt hurt. She couldn't remember anyone ever rejecting her like this! "Then why should I do anything to help you?"

The screech of the eagle and the howl of the wolf prevented him from responding. Dagan shook his head. "That is an ill portent."

The animals seemed to be calling them because they heard them again. Shamara looked at Dagan, her brows raised. "I don't think the gods want us to ignore them."

He frowned at her, and without a word he headed in the direction from which the animal calls came. Shamara followed him reluctantly. No good had ever come from following the lead of those beasts.

_"Don't be so distrusting!"_

Shamara spun around. "Who said that?"

Only the howling of the wolf and the screeching of the owl could be heard. Shamara shrugged. Probably a trick of Dagan's. He was responsible for this entire escapade. As she shoved aside the thick, huge leaves of the foliage and hurried to keep him in sight ahead of her, she tried to think of ways he could be tortured. Unfortunately, Shamara didn't quite understand the concept of torture and could not come up with one suitable method besides sending him to his room without dessert. That had happened to Amyr once when he shot a spoonful of his meal at the Ambassador from Teralon, a planet several days distant. Somehow her father had managed to soothe the man's ruffled feathers…

"Try to concentrate on the mission," scolded Dagan from ahead.

"Are you reading my thoughts?" she demanded angrily as she caught up to him.

"I can't help it when you think so loudly," he returned, not breaking a stride. "Fortunately, you can't read mine."

"I can so!"

He chuckled. "Not when you are too busy with your own silly musings."

Shamara shut her mouth and tried to concentrate on his thoughts, but she could not read them. Frowning, she wondered how he could block him as efficiently as he could her.

"You would never be able to do it, princess." He came to a stop and she bumped into his back. Peering around him, she saw the wolf standing in the middle of the trail he had been making. The wolf turned and growled into the darkness.

"I don't need to read your thoughts, and you don't need to read mine," said Shamara as a frisson of fear wriggled up her spine. 

"I see something ahead," he announced.

"If it has fangs and more than one head, I think we should go back the way we came," she suggested.

The owl screeched and she jumped.

Dagan turned around and put his hands on her shoulders. "I will understand if you cannot go through with the trials the gods have set out for us."

"When did _your_ trials and quests suddenly become mine?" demanded Shamara, raising her chin and glaring at him. "Especially when you have already announced your decision not to marry me."

"You said yourself that the gods brought us together."

"Did I?" Shamara thought she should watch what she was saying around him in the future.

"Too late to back out now." He pushed forward into the darkness. Clouds obscured what little light there was from the moons, and afraid to be left alone, Shamara hurried after him, the wolf running beside her. They came to a clearing, and as Dagan took her arm and drew her closer to him, the wolf lowered its head and its hackles raised as it growled. The eagle landed on a branch nearby and ruffled its feathers.

"I see a cave."

Shamara looked past him and saw the black yawning mouth of a cave. "You don't think we are going in there do you? There is no light and…"

Dagan lifted his hands, and she felt him go tense for a moment before a blast of fire blew forth and lit several branches of the tree on fire. She watched speechlessly as he walked forward, snapped off a branch, then headed toward the cave.

"I'm not going in with you!" she called after him. She stood in the burning clearing alone with the wolf and the eagle. The wolf stared at the cave growling. The eagle seemed to be staring at Shamara as if accusing her of some crime. She stamped her foot. "All right! I'll go, but only because I think he needs protection!" 

Shamara felt much better when she had gone into the cave and saw that Dagan had not gone very far. He was holding up the torch that he had made to look at the wall. Shamara wondered if there was some type of creature there, but as she looked closer, she saw symbols carved into the rock.

"What is that?" she asked.

"The words of the gods," he said reverently. Shamara thought he was going to get on his knees and start praying.

"I doubt the gods would make such crude drawings," she remarked as she continued to study the symbols. "I have seen this type of marking before, but I cannot remember where."

Dagan looked at her. "How can you have seen this before? You have never been to this system!"

She shrugged. "I do not know, but I very much doubt the gods made these marks." 

The ground rumbled, and Shamara lost her footing. Dagan caught her to keep her from falling. "It is not safe in here."

He started to lead her from the cave, but from deeper inside, a sound that was akin to moaning and growling at the same time made him freeze. "I know that sound," he said quietly, releasing Shamara and drawing his sword. He threw aside the torch, and Shamara scrambled to pick it up before it extinguished on the damp cavern floor.

"Where are you going?" she demanded furiously as she followed.

"In the bowels of this forsaken planet there is a beast who feeds on the flesh of men. In the other world I cannot do anything to save the poor men who are sent to their deaths. In here, I will not allow such an abomination to live."

"Dagan! You will get yourself killed!" Shamara stopped and watched him until he disappeared into the darkness headed in the direction of the sounds. What did he think he could accomplish? Based on what she had already seen on this planet, she could very well imagine what the creature he stalked looked like. And he was going to fight it with a sword? 

Annoyed and frightened, she followed after him. "Dagan, where are you?"

"Princess, go back. I do not want you to get hurt."

His voice was several feet ahead, so she continued forward. "I am not going to leave you alone in here!" The ground was sloping downward. "Dagan, I can't find you."

"Watch your step. There are holes…" His voice suddenly trailed away and she heard a scraping sound. Shamara forgot fear for herself and hurried forward, barely able to stop as she came to the edge of a huge pit. Kneeling at the edge, she swung the torch as low as she could and was able to make out a form lying prone on a ledge.

"Dagan?" He didn't move. Shamara realized he must have bumped his head when he fell. Idiot, she thought. And my father wants me to marry him? She would spend the rest of her life protecting him from his foolish pursuits claiming that the gods were directing him. This certainly wasn't the Prince Dagan she had heard about!

Setting aside the torch, she allowed her eyes to grow accustomed to the dark, then surveyed the sides of the pit. If she were careful, she could climb down, if she wanted to. She could also just leave him. This wasn't really happening, was it? As if in answer, the recently healed wound she had received from the serpent began to throb. Shamara knew if she left Dagan there, he might die in this world, and his body would die in the other. Shamara couldn't let that happen.

Slowly, she lowered herself into the hole and almost panicked when she couldn't find a foothold. Finally she did, and she carefully climbed lower, each movement seeming to take an hour as she searched in the dark for something to hold onto. When she came to the ledge, she realized there was no room for her to stand, so she had to straddle Dagan. She felt very uncomfortable in such a position, but he was unconscious, so she shook off her embarrassment.

After determining that the ledge wouldn't be able to support too much movement, she leaned forward to see Dagan's face better. He wasn't bleeding. She would have to touch him to determine his injuries, and she was afraid to do it. Shamara didn't know what she would see if she put her hands on him.

Fortunately, his lashes fluttered, and then he opened his eyes. At first, he didn't seem to recognize her, and then he chuckled. "You are determined to mate me, aren't you, princess."

Shamara was glad it was dark and he couldn't see how heated her cheeks were. How did he get that idea?

"I am not complaining." He moved his hips. "There, now that is more comfortable."

Shamara almost agreed until she realized where she was sitting, how she was sitting, and that it affected him in ways that had nothing to do with their present danger. Did that have something to do with mating? "Just what are you doing?"

His hands were moving up her legs. "I thought you wanted this, princess."

She slapped at his hands. "That was when I thought it was a dream! This isn't a dream! And there is a beast in here that you said yourself feeds upon the flesh of men."

"Don't worry, Shamara, I will make it seem like a dream." His hands were suddenly on her shoulders and he drew her downwards.

She tried to twist away from him. "Let me go, you…you …"

His lips cut off any word she might have been able to say. Shamara was stunned at first, and then she simply did not want to stop this glorious kiss. This was her second kiss, she thought. And she had not even been kissed in real life. Would a real kiss with Dagan be this good, or would it be as dull as she suspected the true Dagan was? 

"Stop thinking," he murmured as he kissed a trail to her neck.

"This is silly," she whispered, but she ran her fingers through his hair while his hands worked on the sash that kept her intricate robes together and his lips nuzzled lower. Her garment fell over her shoulders, and Dagan's hands grazed over her bared ribs as he moved them upwards.

A roar startled him into drawing back. It wasn't an animal! It wasn't the beast! It was…

"Shamara!"

Her eyes flew open, and for a moment, the bright light blinded her. She was lying on a soft bed, and she could feel a warm breeze. Shamara moved her head to the side and she saw the familiar sight of the two Calabrian suns.

"I have to go back!" she exclaimed, turning quickly but finding herself face to face with her father. His expression was anything but indulgent. He looked murderously angry as he rubbed his knuckles. She glanced past him to see Apolo standing behind with a faint smile on his lips. Shamara realized he must have seen her trance.

"You are not going anywhere!" Trey pushed himself away from the bed and turned away from her as if he couldn't stand the sight of her. Shamara was hurt. He was trembling, and his voice was shaky. "I thought we were going to lose you when Duo brought you back in that state, and now I find out you were merely having some kind of sexual fantasy! I should beat you!"

Shamara almost burst into tears. "It wasn't what you think!" She had never seen this side of her father before. "I can explain!"

But he walked out, slamming the door in his wake.

The tears began to slide down her cheeks, and she looked at her uncle. "What did you tell my father?"

Apolo chuckled. "I didn't tell him anything. He entered a trance once before, so he touched your hands, and I'm afraid he saw more than he wanted." Now Apolo threw back his head in laughter, and Shamara picked up a pillow and pelted him with it.

"Get out!"

She could still hear his laughter as he walked away down the hall and she had buried her head under her pillows. Only a few moments passed before the door opened, and Shamara quickly peeked out to see if her father had returned, but it was her mother.

"You were rather rude to my brother," she commented.

"He didn't seem bothered," muttered Shamara resentfully.

Arora sat on the edge of the bed. "Your father is quite furious."

Shamara swiped at her tears. "He shouldn't have come into my trance!"

"I think he knows that, but he hoped he could bring you out. Shamara, you have been in that trance for three days since you returned."

"It wasn't three days!" Shamara could not believe what she was hearing. "No more than an hour could have passed in there."

"Perhaps your perception of time was skewed by the wormhole. Whatever the reason, we were afraid you would starve." Arora laughed softly and brushed back Shamara's hair, then wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Who was the young man?"

"Prince Dagan," she said, hoping that would make a difference.

"Duo reported that Dagan's ship disappeared and likely crashed."

"Dagan is alive! I have to go back and help him."

"Or finish what your father interrupted?" Her mother raised her brows in a way that made Shamara blush and cringe with embarrassment. Arora laughed again. "I would love to know what he saw."

"Nothing for which I should be ashamed!"

"Then why is your face so pink?" Arora pinched her cheeks gently. "I will go talk to your father. Perhaps I can get him to see some reason. After all, I don't think he gave much consideration to what my father might have thought when he seduced me on Earth."

Her mother left before Shamara could question her further about that comment, especially the details about the seducing, and soon enough, her sisters, all demanding to know about her experience in the trance invaded her privacy. None of them had Guerani powers and they would never enter a trance, but Shamara was reluctant to give them any details. All but Chaela were too young to understand anyway, so she told them only about the monsters and showed them her healing wound which had almost faded to nothing. When the two younger ones left, Chaela remained behind to draw a perfumed bath for Shamara. 

She helped her wash her long, thick hair, then pulled up a stool and leaned forward to look Shamara in the eye. "So, are you still a virgin?"

Shamara splashed water at her. "What kind of question is that?"

Chaela laughed and wiped her face. "You aren't answering!"

"Of course I am!" What was Chaela talking about? How would Shamara know if she were or were not a virgin?

"Good. I heard from someone who heard from a Bayman trader who heard the gossip at the Bayman court that if Prince Dagan finds you are not pure, he will not be forced to wed you. He wants to marry his concubine."

Shamara shrugged. "He told me already that he loved another." Although she presented a calm façade to Chaela, Shamara was seething with fury. If she knew how to enter a trance and pull that Bayman dog prince in with her, she would find some suitable way to punish him for his duplicity. So he was going to seduce her in a trance so that he could claim she was unpure? Shamara wondered if she was already unpure.

"So, is he handsome?"

"The ugliest man alive," she muttered.

Chaela laughed. "There is still hope for me, then?"

Shamara glared at her. "You couldn't handle a man like him."

"I probably know a few tricks you couldn't even dream of." Chaela was laughing as she left. Her sister was exasperating, but she wasn't mean spirited. She had no designs on Dagan, but she liked teasing Shamara. Chaela had the luxury of doing as she pleased, and she did just that even though she often angered their parents. Shamara didn't care anyway who ended up with Prince Dagan of Bayman.

After bathing, Shamara dressed, then decided to speak to her father. But he was busy, so she spent the rest of the day with her family telling them stories of her adventure in the human system. For an hour she practiced her swordplay with Amyr and Taeron until the former noticed the females watching from the balcony over the practice yard, and the latter was dragged away with her brother in his pursuit of the giggling young women.

As they hurried after the pair, Shamara put away her sword and noticed her mother sitting on a bench, her youngest child playing around her feet. "Do you think they are going to have innocent relations with those females?" asked Shamara with disgust.

Arora shrugged. "Who knows what a male will do? Ah, here comes your father." 

Shamara dreaded looking up. Emperor Trey was approaching, and although he wasn't smiling as he usually did when he saw her, he wasn't glaring either. His advisors stepped back, then disappeared back into the palace along with the courtiers who seemed to be necessary ornaments at the court. Her father usually ignored them.

Trey stopped when he was standing over Shamara. "How are you feeling now that you have had some rest?"

"Ashamed."

He sat beside her on the bench and took her hand. Shamara felt his regret more strongly than if he would speak it. "I should not have disturbed your trance. You mother tells me you were with Dagan."

"Does that make it so much better?" She drew her hands away from him, then looked into her father's eyes. "I have been told that when I bonded with you, I allowed you to see my life."

"That is true, Shamara, but I cannot reveal it to you. You must make your own decisions." He stroked her hair back from her face. "I am not ashamed of you, my little princess. Your mother reminded me quite efficiently that you are not my little girl anymore, that you are a young woman with feelings and needs beyond my control."

"I don't have those kinds of needs! Amyr might, but not me!" She didn't even know what those needs were, but she wasn't going to let him know of her ignorance.

He smiled faintly. "I think you should be married as soon as possible."

"I won't marry Dagan! He tried to trick me!"

"I question his honor and his worthiness to be your mate anyway."

Shamara was about to agree, but she remembered how he had saved her life. "Well, he is lost to me anyway." Her voice sounded lame even to her.

"Good. You are seeing my point of view. I will be sending his father a stern reproach. I would not be proud to claim one such as he."

Shamara glanced at her mother and found that she was smiling. She looked back at her father. "We aren't just going to leave him on the Mars Colony?"

"Mars Colony?" His brows raised. "Is that where Dagan ended up?"

"It is a horrible place!" Shamara grabbed his arm. "We can't just leave him there!"

"Shamara, you give me the impression that you have some feelings for that young scoundrel."

She released him and sat back. "I do not! I pity him as I would any helpless creature! He is so ill suited to be there. Father, you should have seen his deplorable skill with a sword! He couldn't defend me if my life depended on it! Someone has to defend him."

"Are you volunteering?" asked Arora. Shamara knew she was laughing at her, could tell by the tone of her voice and the twinkle in her amber eyes, but Shamara ignored her.

Trey frowned. "You still want to marry this laggard of a swordsman who cannot defend you?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Good. I have already begun negotiations with the ambassador from Teralon."

"Father! They have feathers!" Shamara shuddered as she thought of the people from that planet whose males could morph into beings with wings.

"I'm sure you would get used to it," commented Arora with that little smile of hers.

Shamara felt trapped. "I…I…" She looked at her father. He wouldn't really make her marry a birdman! Would he?

"Shamara, you are the most eligible princess in the galaxy." He smiled proudly. "I can't help it that my influence is widespread or that you are beautiful in the bargain. I have already had twelve offers of marriage for you since you returned and word of Dagan's disappearance and possible death has spread. If I don't marry you off, one of those hot-blooded princes from another planet will carry you away in a forced marriage."

"But…but Dagan is not dead!"

"You said you didn't want to marry him, so we really have no reason to send anyone through the wormhole to find him."

"But…but…"

"The trip back through that wormhole could be dangerous, and I think Seighen has given up on his son. When I asked if he wished to cooperate and send a rescue mission through the wormhole, he refused. Now I don't think I want to risk any lives on a whim of yours to search for him on Mars Colony. "

"It's not a whim!"

"So you say, Shamara." He was grinning at her.

Shamara knew he was toying with her. "You are unfair! Mother, tell him so!"

Arora shrugged.

"So what is your answer?" asked Trey, still grinning. "Is this match with Dagan still on? I got the impression that he was less than repulsive to you. I doubt the Prince Avar of Teralon is as adept at using his fingers."

"Father!" Shamara felt faint with embarrassment. She looked to her mother for help, but she could only smile at her husband.

"Your answer?" His brows were raised.

"All right! I'll marry Dagan, but only because I don't want to live in a nest for the rest of my life hatching eggs!"

Trey threw back his head in laughter that Shamara didn't join. She might have to marry Dagan, but she didn't have to like it. She would make him regret his scheme to dispose of her. 

"I know I told him he wouldn't have to do it again, but he is the most qualified to assist you. I'll ask Duo to escort you back." 

"Excellent!" Now Shamara smiled, for although her life was taking a turn for the worse, this trip would be the best thing for Duo. "Lord Duo's mate is on the Mars Colony."

"Lord Duo's mate?" Trey couldn't look more surprised.

"The healer," Shamara told him. "She saved my life with her knowledge of potions."

"Duo found some woman?" Trey stroked his chin. "This is interesting news. I have been discussing with my advisors the feasibility of combining the governments of the two moons, so I was considering asking him to marry Larya. But if he is interested in another woman…"

"The flame-haired woman," said Shamara. "Her name is Trynity Nelson, and she has already given him a son and daughter although she did not tell him so."

Her father looked amazed. "He saw Trynity? He spoke to her and yet he came back without her?" Then he frowned. "Nelson? By the gods, that reunion must have gone badly!"

"He pretends to not want her, but I saw how he looked at her. She is in his heart." Shamara smiled. "And I think she has deep feelings for him."

"Interesting. So she had twins as Apolo predicted." Trey chuckled. "Did you also meet them?"

"Yes. I liked them." She looked down at her hands guiltily.

"Oh my, you touched them!" Arora was dismayed.

"Just the girl. She grabbed my hand! That is when I realized she was Duo's daughter."

"Did she know it already?" asked Trey.

Shamara shook her head. "Her mother married another man who raised her children as his own. I am not sure if I let her know the truth or not. She did not say anything about it, not to her mother or to Duo or to me."

"I don't think we should get involved," said Arora. "Don't touch either of them again."

Trey chuckled, and Shamara knew that he was going to do as he forbade her. He was going to meddle in Duo's life. "I will send Apolo to Duo and see if he would be willing to escort you back to the Mars Colony to find your beloved groom."

"He is not my beloved groom!"

"Then I will send you back to the Mars Colony to rescue that bungling prince."

"Much better," muttered Shamara. And she would make that bungling prince regret trying to use her!


	11. Visits from new flames?

****

Second Moon, Calabria 

Duo couldn't concentrate on the report one of his sector commanders was giving him. Although there had been a brief riot by Camridaen extremists, nothing else of interest happened, especially among the Zenoites who had finally accepted his rule. They objected more to his affiliation with Trey than his non-Calabrian background. Disgruntled, displaced imperials and pirates populated the moon, and they felt less loyalty to Trey, whom they considered an usurper, than to him. But Duo ruled with an iron fist and a razor sharp sword in the name of the emperor. Three years ago he had put down an insurrection with his army, and he would do so again if need be. He flexed his muscles now just thinking of bloodying his sword on traitors and anarchists, especially the religious fanatics that tried to spread chaos in the name of their dark god.

But instead of actually planning a retaliatory foray into the forest where the majority of the zealots hid themselves, he was unable to draw his thoughts away from Dr. Trynity Stryfe Nelson. Why hadn't she seen him off? He didn't believe for a second that she had an emergency at the infirmary. By the looks on Heero and Relena's faces, they didn't believe it either. She couldn't forgive him for jettisoning his escape pod.

Well, he wouldn't forgive her for marrying Lars Nelson.

That was that!

"…And there doesn't seem to be one leader qualified to bring the groups together."

Duo looked at the man. "They are ruffians. If they harm even the lowliest of the emperor's dutiful citizens, we will rout them all out even if it means burning down the forest."

"Yes, my lord."

"I doubt that will be necessary. Perhaps if we…"

He had no chance to finish because the door slammed open, and into his large office marched a woman he would rather not deal with now. Gods, was there ever a time he wanted to speak to Larya?

"You may go!" She dismissed his general with a wave of her hand.

He bowed low to her, and then glanced at Duo who nodded his agreement. Larya also dismissed the two amazon women who had accompanied her, and they left only after giving Duo a warning look. What did they think was going to happen? Although she was a very attractive woman, Duo had been in her bed and didn't particularly like her style. Besides, he felt more in danger from her.

"Aren't you going to greet me properly?"

"I don't see anyone we have to give a show to, so no." Duo didn't even get up from his chair. Instead he put his feet on his desk and sat back. "What can I do for you?"

"By the gods, I don't know what I ever saw in you!"

"Whatever it was, you ain't going to see it again." 

"At least _you_ got some pleasure out of the arrangement!" She came around his desk. Duo hoped she didn't have her handy chains with her.

"I didn't hear you complaining at the time," he returned although he was starting to get nervous.

She swung a leg over his and straddled his lap. With any other woman, he might have gotten interested. Larya made his blood curdle. "I have heard some interesting news."

"You could have sent a messenger." How insulted would she be if he threw her on the floor?

"I had to speak to you in person. This is of a delicate nature." She put her arms on his shoulders and laced her fingers behind his neck. "I need a favor of you, Lord Duo Maxwell."

"A favor. Now this is intriguing. What's in it for me?"

"Me, of course." She leaned forward so that her bosom was almost in his face. 

"Giving me something I've already had is hardly a reward," he commented although he did find her show a little distracting. She was the last woman he had been with, and that was a very long time ago. 

Larya laughed and tossed back her hair. "I will forgo the chains. I know how much you dislike them."

No chains? "I think you are lying." He didn't trust her.

"I didn't bring any in with me, did I?" She reached up and started to loosen her clothing.

"Here?" Although this was going just a little too fast, and Duo didn't feel like letting this opportunity pass. Knowing he would be damned, he reached for her anyway, but Larya pulled the edges of her robe together.

"Not yet."

"Dammit, Larya, then go ahead and chain my hands behind my back." His resistance was completely gone.

"You didn't hear the news."

Duo shook out his head. What was he doing allowing the ultimate female spider to seduce him? "Later."

"Men are all alike. I hate the lot of you and wish I didn't need to do this!"

Dou sighed. "Cut to the chase, Larya." 

"His Excellency was overheard saying he would be pleased by a union of our governments."

"Not a bad idea." Duo thought they could benefit by merging some of their departments. Her planet had an abundance of women and his a lack. What better way to appease the dissenters around than to bring in a few females to distract them?

"It is a very bad idea. The emperor wants us to marry."

"What!" Duo had a vision of himself chained to a bed for the rest of his life.

"My thoughts exactly! I may have given you a son, but I won't be tied to you! The sight of you disgusts me."

"What can I do if he has already decided?"

"He will listen to you! As long he hasn't announced his decision, you can go to Calabria and talk some sense into him."

"I will leave as soon as possible." Duo tried to get up, but he found that he couldn't move. Larya was smiling at him wickedly. "Larya, you said no chains." He jerked at his arms, but his wrists were chained to the chair.

"I lied! I don't want you touching me."

"Why don't you go to Calabria and talk to him?" suggested Duo as she was undoing his tunic. "We don't need to go through this at all."

"You know I can't do that!"

Duo chuckled despite his predicament. "I guess you shouldn't have burned that bridge by trying to kill Trey."

"You are so amusing, Lord Duo. I am not banished for that. Lady Arora doesn't want me to tempt him from her arms." He heard a click, then a clanking as retrieved her chains. "I am hungry and tired. Why don't we go to your suite where we can have a little more privacy."

The upper half of his body instructed him to call for a guard and have her escorted to the spaceport. The lower half demanded some attention. After ordering a meal sent to his rooms, he escorted her there. While he waited impatiently for the meal, she disappeared into the bathing chamber. A hot bath might have been a good idea, but the servants arrived with the meal, so Duo waited impatiently for Larya to finish. By the time she did, the food was cold, but he ceased to think about his stomach. Larya was a beautiful woman, and a man would have to be dead and buried to not be enticed by her. The cloth of her dressing gown shimmered as she crossed the room to him, but she ignored him as she seated herself across from him at the table.

"I see your lazy servants have allowed the food to chill."

Duo now remembered why she annoyed him. She was the ultimate bitch. "You shouldn't have taken so long in the bath."

"I doubt whether you chilled," she purred as she picked up a roasted fowl leg. Watching her eat it was agony. She efficiently cleaned the bone with her lips and tongue and teeth, and he was wondering how he could put that skill to work when she set aside the bone and said, "I have not seen my son since his return. Are you proud that he is Princess Shamara's imperial guard?"

"Why should I be proud?"

"Because he is your son." Larya opened her mouth to say something more, and then closed it. Good, she realized the futility of arguing. Then she said, "Do you want me to give you a child of this mating?"

Duo almost choked on his food. "What?!"

"I thought we should discuss it this time, since I didn't give you a choice the last time." She shrugged her shoulder and her dressing gown slipped to reveal enough of her to make his thoughts scatter. "I would like a female child this time." She raised her brow at him, expecting an answer.

Duo was about to tell her to forget it when he thought of Shamara. Her childhood had been the only brightness in his life. "Would I be allowed to have a part in raising her?"

Larya smiled with delight. "You would agree?"

He felt like he was in quicksand. He wasn't really going to agree to have a child with Larya, was he? For a second he thought of Trynity, and he felt a stab of guilt until he saw a picture in his mind of her rolling around in bed with Lars Nelson. What he had with her was gone! Lost in the split second when he pushed that button. He couldn't spend the rest of his life regretting what couldn't be changed. She left him in the past, so he could do the same with her.

"I won't marry you," he stated.

"I wouldn't marry you if you begged," she agreed. "But when my daughter is born, you will claim her for your house as well as Taeron."

This wasn't what he expected fathering a child would be like. Then again, he didn't really expect she would get pregnant. Taeron wasn't his son. He was more convinced now after seeing Trynity with her son and daughter. She hadn't gotten pregnant with him, even after all the bungling attempts at contraception that they simply gave up on. Lars must have hit the jackpot on the first try. Quynn and Stryfe seemed to be the same age as Heero's son and Shamara.

At least he could have a little fun as Larya tried to get impregnated. He suspected this could go on long into the night.

"Agreed." He really had nothing to lose except a little self-respect, what little remained.

Larya pushed herself away from the table. "You will have to wait a few moments longer. If we are going to breed, then I must make some preparations."

She had been gone several minutes when there was a rap at the door. Duo called for the visitor to enter thinking it might be the servants to collect the meal. But it was one of his advisors.

"Excuse me, my lord, but…"

"You don't need to announce me." Apolo strode into his room and headed to the table. "Having an early meal? By the gods, Duo, you aren't going to bed in the middle of the afternoon, are you?"

Duo laughed. "Something has come up."

"Indeed!" Apolo smirked, then looked toward the bathing chamber. "Is she there? I hope I can meet the woman who can take you from your duties in the middle of the day."

"Here she is now."

Larya hadn't noticed they weren't alone. She paused in the doorway to the bathing chamber, untied her sash and let the dressing gown fall open as she leaned against the doorway. "I'm ready, Lord Duo."

Duo turned to make a comment to Apolo, but his eyes were glazed over as he stared at Larya. His reaction to the woman was interesting. 

Larya noticed him. "You!"

Apolo seemed to snap out of his trance. "My dear Larya, you are the last woman I expected to find with Duo."

She quickly pulled her gown together and knotted the sash tightly around her waist, then glared at Duo. "You could have warned me that we had an intruder, especially this sorcerer."

Duo shrugged and looked back at Apolo. "So what brings you to the moon?"

But Apolo didn't answer as he watched Larya cross the room then climb onto Duo's bed where she arranged herself in a provocative pose by parting her gown in just the right places.

Apolo moved to put his back to the bed although Duo knew he was a distracted. "You are to escort Shamara again."

"What? I thought I was finished with that duty!" Duo loved her dearly, but he had been away from his government far too much lately.

"Shamara is convinced that Dagan is at a place called the Mars Colony."

"Mars Colony!" A knot formed in his gut. "You expect me to take her to the Mars Colony?" 

Apolo jabbed his ribs with his elbow. "Shamara tells us that lovely morsel Trynity Stryfe is on the Mars Colony. You'd be lying if you said you didn't want to see her again."

Duo glanced down at where Apolo was making contact with him. "You are a rat, Apolo. I don't think I would ever have that conscious thought."

Apolo slapped him on the back. "Trust me. You won't regret the trip."

"When am I expected to leave?"

"A few hours. Shamara and Taeron will be picking you up." Apolo glanced toward the bed. "I'm sure there is enough time…"

"Hardly. I have arrangements to make."

Apolo was still looking at the bed where Larya had made herself very comfortable. "Perhaps I shall break the news to her."

Duo thought about her extra preparations and decided not to warn Apolo. He deserved what he would get for coveting another man's woman in that man's own bedroom. "Do whatever you think you can get away with."

Apolo winked at him. "I know just what she likes. Larya is no stranger to me."

Duo hoped she pulled out the chains to use on him.

As he walked to the door he heard Larya call out for him, then her very loud cursing when it was obvious Apolo was going to stand in for him. Duo thought he might thank the governor of the Wastelands when he returned from his mission. But Apolo might not be in the mood to accept his thanks, especially if Larya had her way. She might just get that daughter she wanted.

Duo burst into laughter as he headed down the corridor leading away from his suite. He could barely wait to see the results of this day.

****

Mars Colony 

"Boil a few of these leaves in fresh water, and when it has cooled, put two or three drops in her ear. The swelling should go down soon thereafter." Trynity chucked the little girl on the examining table under the chin. "You'll be good as new in the morning."

"Thank you, doctor." She flashed a toothless grin at Trynity who smiled and ruffled her dark hair before turning to the girl's mother.

"Has your husband returned yet?" When the woman shook her head, Trynity sighed and reached out to squeeze her hands. "Do not give up hope."

"They never return from the mines. My Robert has been gone for three weeks. I've accepted that he won't be around to see his little girl grow up."

Trynity knew how such a loss felt. "Are you holding up otherwise?"

"I'm selling everything and going back to L11. I can't stay here alone, and I don't want to raise my daughter here. I see women giving up and letting those animals into their homes. My neighbor is pregnant already and she doesn't even know which of those brigands did it."

"I don't blame you for leaving. Do you need any money to buy passage to L11?" Trynity walked across the room and opened the drawer where she kept the little income she received from her patients on the colony. Most of the money she had received from her work at the infirmary on L12. "This should get both of you on the next transport out." She returned and pressed the money into the woman's hands.

There were tears of gratitude in her eyes although she half-heartedly pushed the money back. "I can't accept this from you, Dr. Nelson."

Trynity shoved the money into her hands again and closed the woman's fingers around it. "Nonsense! I have more than enough. I will have my son take you home and help you pack, then he can escort you to the spaceport."

She hugged Trynity. "I can never thank you enough."

"Just take care of your daughter."

After they had left, she called Stryfe into the examining room. It wasn't sterile and aesthetic like the one at the infirmary. Her clinic was little better than a shack, and this large room doubled as her office, the examining room, and her pharmacy and there were three beds curtained to the side for any patients requiring overnight care. What might be considered primitive care on L12, leaves and seeds with healing properties lay scattered on the counters with some of the latest technical instruments for diagnosing. The former she found in the forests around the clinic, the later depended largely on a generator that she rarely ran and which never seemed to work. She preferred an old-fashioned approach to doctoring. Her colleagues on L12 didn't even know their patients' names. Trynity knew everything about hers.

"You can't keep doing this," warned Stryfe when she had explained what she wanted him to do. "You'll run out of money when every destitute woman who has lost a husband to the mines comes in with their sad story."

"They won't all come in. Some are content to serve the brigands." Trynity tried not to feel disgust for them. They were women who simply didn't have the gumption to survive on Mars anyway. If they wanted to lower themselves to the level of an animal, then she would try not to judge them.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," said Stryfe, pausing at the door.

"Be careful," she warned him before he left. Stryfe had been a big help to her in the days she had been back. Because her nurse had abandoned the clinic during her absence, he took her place. Quynn spent most of her time tinkering in the garage or lying about in a hammock studying technical manuals. Lars had always said that if he could jam the two of them together he could make another Trynity Stryfe. If she worried more about Stryfe it was because he was more likely to do something illogical, like hop into an escape pod and jettison himself into oblivion.

Trynity sat down and took a deep breath, but she felt the tears gathering behind her eyes. This had all been behind her until Duo Maxwell suddenly appeared in her life again. Now along with that rejection, she had to deal with the guilt of marrying Lars all over again. When would the pain ever stop? Why did she have to fall in love with him? Why couldn't it have been a constant man like Lars?

She lowered her head in her arms on the counter and allowed herself to cry. It wouldn't help. It never did.

A hand rested on her back, and for a moment she relaxed as it caressed her. Then she turned to see Quatre Winner. She checked the urge to slap him. Instead, she wiped her eyes and stood, shrugging his hand from her. "What do you want?" she asked hoarsely. "I have patients who need my assistance."

Quatre chuckled and folded his arms over his chest. "Not anymore. The moment we arrived, they were suddenly cured."

"I told you not to come here." Trynity moved away and turned to tidy up the mess on her counter. "If you needed my services…"

"I don't need those kinds of services from you Trynity although I think you know the kinds of aches you can soothe." He came up behind her, then leaned into her as he put his arms around either side of her and grasped the counter. She was trapped. "I heard from Malik that you were back, and I wanted to see you. I missed you, Trynity," he breathed into her ear.

"There was nothing for you to miss," she snapped. What could she hit him with?

He pushed her against the counter with his body. "Why do you keep denying me, Trynity? You must be lonely without Lars to keep you company in that big bed of yours."

"He's gone thanks to you!" She couldn't wriggle away from him and she regretted allowing her strength to diminish over the years.

"Not me - at least not personally although I gave some consideration into taking my dear Sandrock out once more to slice his transport into tiny pieces. But knowing he was blown to bits by that little device was gratifying enough."

Trynity spun around and tried to strike him, but Quatre grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. "You bastard! I knew you were responsible!"

Quatre jerked her arm and smiled when she winced with pain. "I remember when you were so much stronger than the rest of us little boys at Seaside. Too bad I've grown and you haven't. You are like a tiger, Trynity, and I've put my energies into training for the day when I would corner you."

"Aren't you afraid I might rip you to shreds?" If Trynity had a knife, she would do it now. Her scalpels were across the room, far from her reach.

Quatre laughed. "That is part of your charm. I'll savor the taming of you even more once I have succeeded, and I will succeed." Suddenly he released her and stepped back. Her hand was so numb from lack of circulation that she couldn't even make a fist. "I didn't come here for that today, Dr. Nelson, but you just get my blood boiling. One of my men needs your help."

"Something Butch can't handle?" she asked sarcastically. His medic was poorly trained and the care he gave to the miners wasn't any better than the care people received in the dark ages.

Quatre didn't answer before stepping out, and he returned after a moment followed by a man carrying another who was dressed completely in black. Quatre motioned to the examining table where the unconscious man was dumped.

Trynity wanted to refuse to help, but she couldn't. "What happened to him?"

Quatre shrugged. "Who knows? He has been like this for several days. One minute he was awake, the next unconscious. I prefer him awake."

Trynity didn't want to help one of Quatre's henchmen, but she had taken an oath to help the sick. So she moved past the lummox who had carried her patient in, then stood over the table and looked down at him. He was a handsome young man, well-proportioned telling Trynity he had a healthy diet. He also did not reek like the typical man in Quatre's employ, so she was sure he bathed. There was a wound on his forehead, and although it was already healing, she couldn't rule out the possibility that his unconscious state was due to a concussion.

Sighing, she pulled out a chart. "What is his name?"

"Kael."

"What else can you tell me about him?"

"He does his work without complaint, but from time to time he has daydreamed his way into oblivion like this." Quatre headed to the door. "I'll be back later to pick up him."

"Assuming I can help him," she said.

Quatre chuckled. "Waking up that poor bastard should be a cinch for a physician of your considerable skill." Then he left.

Trynity spent the afternoon running tests on Kael. No other patients arrived to distract her, but then who would dare to try to get past the thugs now standing outside her clinic? All the while she examined her patient, he lay still, breathing, yet otherwise not moving, not even a twitch when she stuck him with a needle. She did a scan of his brain and saw that it was extremely active, but his eyes did not move as eyes did while in an active dream. Perplexed, she ran a routine test of his blood to determine if he was suffering from some strange disease caught from the bite of some as yet unknown insect or creature on his planet. When the computer printed the results of the scan she had run on his blood, she wondered if there was a glitch because it could not read the sample. She took a different sample and got the same reading, so she ran a test on his DNA and found that it did not match human DNA.

Trynity returned to the young man and looked more closely at him. He appeared human, and yet…Realizing what she might be seeing, she went back to her samples and accessed the military databases with the hacking ease taught her by her father. Sure enough, she found a strand of DNA that had elements in common with his: Princess Shamara of Calabria. So what did this mean? Was this young man her brother? No, he didn't look like either Arora or Trey. Yet why did his blood match hers so well? She returned to the database and searched even further back, finally finding the samples she needed. Comparing them all she came to the logical conclusion that the imperfection in match occurred because Trey, who was half Calabrian and half human was Shamara's father. This young man's blood matched Arora and Apolo perfectly. Given the inbreeding among the Guerani people, Trynity wasn't surprised at the purity of the bloodline.

Now that she had discovered what he was if not who, she returned to his side, then looked down at his hands. Dare she disturb what was most likely a Guerani trance? Trey had done it once so she knew how dangerous it might be. Trynity knew that she could be drawn in, and yet she had to do something to bring him out or he might die.

She was reaching down to touch his hand when his lashes suddenly fluttered and his body jerked. He sighed deeply, then turned his head to look at her. "Where am I?"

Trynity noticed that his jaw was starting to swell. "You are on Mars Colony at my clinic." She found a cold pack and put it to his jaw. "Quatre Winner brought you here hoping I could help you. Alas, you just needed a little time."

"And a very hard fist," he commented as he gingerly applied the pack to his cheek. 

"You are Calabrian," she told him.

"I am not! I am from Bayman." The angry flare in his eyes told Trynity he was deeply insulted. Trynity suspected Calabrians and the people Bayman where genetically linked.

"Pardon my mistake. But you are Guerani."

Kael opened his mouth to deny it, but he didn't speak.

"I have already determined that with my testing," she told him. "I was unaware that there were Guerani people on Bayman. As far as I knew, Lady Arora, her brother and her daughter were the last of their people with those powers."

"You know them?" he asked as he swung himself to a sitting position, setting aside the cold pack.

"A long time ago I spent some time on Calabria. I think that is where I gained my desire to heal people. Of course, I am not nearly as efficient as Lord Apolo or Princess Shamara, but I do what I can. How do you come to be here?"

"I…I was a guard to Prince Dagan. His ship crashed on this planet." There was something about his guarded look that told Trynity he was not being honest.

"Were you injured in the crash?" she asked him.

"Lord Quatre's people took care of my injuries."

The young man couldn't look her in the eyes. She suspected that this was the man many called a wizard. He didn't seem to match the description that those who had seen him use his powers had given her. Although there were fewer reported deaths since the wizard had began to serve the brigands, through his actions many men had been captured and sent to the mines from which they did not return.

__

I only want to return home.

Trynity heard the voice clearly, and yet his lips did not move. Was this a type of telepathy?

Kael wasn't even looking at her.

Trynity opened her mouth to ask him about his affiliation with Quatre and whether he knew what had become of Prince Dagan, but Quatre's voice from the doorway prevented her from questioning the young man.

"I see you have worked your usual miracles." He came to stand so close to her that she could feel the heat of his body. 

Kael glanced at them and looked down, but she had seen the fear in his eyes. He assumed she and Quatre were intimate.

"Come along, Kael."

Trynity put her hand on Quatre's arm. "Wait! I think he should stay for observation."

Quatre raised his brows. "Observation, my dear, or do you like them young now?"

"You are a pig!"

Kael slid off the table. "I will go."

"Too bad, Trynity. Perhaps you can work your charm on him another time."

Kael looked at her. _If you are the healer who saved Shamara's life. I thank you._

After he had left, Quatre turned back to Trynity. The malevolent look in his eyes made her step back instinctively. "You need to remember, my dear, that you belong to me."

Although her heart was beating rapidly from fear, she said, "I don't belong to anyone."

Quatre's hollow chuckle made her shiver. "That is what I like best about you, Trynity. You don't know how to control your stupid bravado. Although I could probably snap your neck before you even realize I have left this spot, you continue to defy me."

Trynity swallowed nervously. "I have a lot of work to do."

He closed the distance between them, but she was frozen to the spot. Trynity couldn't move as he slid his hand over her neck, then grabbed a handful of her hair at to jerk her head back so that she was forced to look in his eyes. There was something in the limpid blue depths of his gaze that kept her from reacting. Where had he gotten this hypnotic power?

"It would be all too easy to take what I want right now." He bent his head and touched his lips to the pulse at her neck. "You are completely within my power."

Although she felt as if she had been drugged, Trynity managed to jerk herself away from him. "Get out!"

Quatre smiled. "I have other matters to attend to anyway. Why don't you come up to the mansion tonight. You know the way."

Trynity glared after him as he left. 

Quynn must have passed him because she stepped into the room almost immediately. "Doing Winner's dirty business now?" she asked Trynity as she hopped up on the table. "And who was that gorgeous, mysterious man in black I saw in the yard?"

"The wizard Kael," she said as she started to tidy up. Trynity was annoyed that her hands were shaking. She didn't know how much more harassment she could take from Quatre Raberba Winner.

"The wizard?" Quynn whistled. "He can cast a few spells on me!"

Trynity frowned at her. "I hope you don't mean that, young lady."

Quynn snorted. "Don't get all holier-than-thou on me, Mom. I'm quite sure you were around the block plenty of times before you were my age."

Stunned, Trynity didn't know how to respond.

Quynn seemed to regret her words because she quickly looked down at her hands. She was wringing them as if she were trying to wipe them clean, and Trynity remembered her admission that Shamara had touched her and how it had made her feel. Was it possible that Quynn knew about her father?

"I made mistakes when I was young," Trynity started.

"You cheated on Pops," accused Quynn suddenly, looking directly at her.

Trynity felt as if her heart stopped in her chest. 

"With Duo Maxwell," blurted Quynn.

"I did no such thing! Where did you get such an idea?"

"I saw how you looked at him, how he looked at you!" Upset, Quynn forged on. "The two of you obviously had a thing and are embarrassed by it! And Pops told me…"

"What did he tell you?" Trynity was furious that Lars would say anything to their children about their intimate life. Did he betray her?

"That he was the luckiest man in the world! He loved you so much, Mom, and I am sick thinking that you could throw that away on Duo Maxwell!"

Trynity felt both relieved and ashamed. "You are mistaken, Quynn. I did not cheat on your father with Duo Maxwell. The truth is, I was far luckier to have him for a husband than he was to have me for a wife. What happened between Duo Maxwell and myself happened before I married your father."

Quynn stared at her, and Trynity could see her perceptive daughter's mind racing. Finally she asked, "How can that be? Before your experience on Calabria? During? When?"

"Stop fishing," snapped Trynity. "What do you want me to say?"

Before Quynn could answer, the outer door banged open, and thinking a patient had arrived to save her from making an admission she hoped she never had to make, Trynity pushed past her daughter and walked into the waiting room which was also the front entrance. 

Stryfe was standing in the middle of the room, behind him, of all people! Duo Maxwell and his entourage. "Look who I picked up at the spaceport! I thought I would bring them here before Winner sunk his claws into them."

Quynn was standing behind Trynity and whispered, "I guess we'll get to the bottom of this sooner than later!"


	12. The moment of truth sixteen years too l...

****

Mars Colony Clinic

Trynity could not believe what she was seeing! "What…what are you doing here?" Had Duo returned to see her? Although she should know better, she felt her heart beating faster as she looked at his face.

But Duo did not look at her, and he seemed reluctant to talk, so an uncomfortable silence stretched between then. When he did finally speak, her soaring hopes took a nosedive. "I have been ordered to escort Princess Shamara again. We are seeking the lost Prince Dagan."

Trying not to show her hurt, Trynity looked away from him to Shamara.

Shamara was smiling, strangely oblivious to the undercurrent of emotion in the room, and behind her stood Duo's son, Taeron who was frowning. Quite the contrast, thought Trynity. They had not come alone this time, but had with them two older men that had not been with them during their last visit. 

Realizing that Trynity was waiting for an introduction, Shamara said, "We have brought other visitors with us. First, this is Elder Hardane, whom I invited. He is a scholar specializing in Guerani history. There is a cave on this colony that has Guerani script carved in the walls."

"Ridiculous!" Trynity laughed. "This planet has been lifeless for eons. Only recently has it become habitable, and even that is questionable."

"I saw the cave in my trance," insisted Shamara. Turning to the other newcomer, an old man who barely seemed able to stand, she said, "This is the teacher of Prince Dagan, Master Nazzar. On our way here, we encountered his ship coming from Bayman and he begged to join our expedition so that he can be reunited with his pupil."

Trynity sighed. "I am sorry to have to tell you this, princess, but your mission is doomed to failure. I was told only an hour ago by a patient that the prince you seek was killed when his craft crashed on the colony. Only one man survived the crash. His name is Kael, and he claimed to be a guard to the prince."

Shamara's eyes widened and she looked at Duo. "This cannot be! I know that Dagan is here! I feel it. I have been with him in this place!"

"The man who I treated was in a Guerani trance when he was brought to me," said Trynity helpfully. "I am sorry, but he is not Prince Dagan. Although I do believe that you were in a trance with him, because his blood is as Guerani as your own, Shamara."

Shamara stamped her foot in anger. "I knew it couldn't be him! How can he have fooled me!? By the gods, now I will have to marry that bird prince from Teralon!"

Master Nazzar cleared his throat. "I believe I can clear up some confusion, princess. The young Guerani known as Kael is, in fact, Prince Dagan."

Shamara spun to look at the old man. "Impossible! Dagan is not Guerani! He has said wretched things about my people, and now you tell me that he is Guerani? I do not believe it!"

"It is true. Prince Dagan does not know about his ancestry. I planned to tell him one day when I thought he could handle the truth. He has come from a long line of pure Guerani princes. His mother was his father's sister, as his father before him was the product of sibling marriage."

"Why the marriage to Shamara?" asked Duo. "Why not marry his sister, Ryana?"

"Ryana, I would guess, is not Guerani," said Trynity.

Master Nazzar nodded. "She has no discernible power. Her mother was merely a distraction for our king until his sister was old enough to conceive. Unfortunately, she died before the female child could be produced."

"I believe this is where I have something to add," spoke up Elder Hardane. "This joining between Princess Shamara and Prince Dagan was foretold many generations ago. They are both the last of their line, separated by space and time, brought together to form a new line that will last forever."

"I'm getting creeped out," commented Quynn. "Excuse me, but I have more down to earth things to do, like fix the damn generator." She walked out with one last contemptible glance that took in both Trynity and Duo. 

Stryfe rubbed his hands together gleefully. "This is great! While they are here, maybe Taeron could teach me how to use a sword like his."

"Why would you need to learn that?" asked Trynity. Stryfe had already mastered the use of the saber and had competed successfully on the fencing team at the academy. She was suspecting that her son was a bit jealous of the young imperial guard and more than a little competitive.

Stryfe shrugged. "Maybe I'd like to visit Calabria one day, and I should probably need to know how to use one. I've admired Taeron's sword."

Duo snorted. "Calabria is safe enough these days. Many imperials no longer carry swords. Taeron received his sword and position from Trey so that he could tack him to my coattails." 

The pained and humiliated look on Taeron's face drove straight through Trynity's heart. Turning on his heel, the young man walked out without a word. 

There was uneasy silence in the room until Stryfe cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose they should stay at our house. I know you are busy, Mom, so I will get them settled in."

He led them out, but Trynity moved forward and caught Duo's arm before he could leave with them. Stryfe raised a brow, then winked at her before he left. When they were gone, she released Duo's arm.

He spoke first. "If your son is thinking what I think he is, he couldn't be more deluded." He wasn't looking at her, but taking in her shabby clinic. "So this is what you made of yourself."

"I am not ashamed! I help people." Trynity was annoyed to have to explain herself to him again. She didn't hold him back for that. "I cannot believe you said what you did about your own son, in front of him no less!"

His eyes met hers. "Save your lectures on parenting. Taeron isn't my son."

"But…but you told Heero…" In her heart she was overjoyed by his announcement.

"I know what I told him. The kid is good enough, but he's Newt's son, not mine. His mother was Newt's whore."

Trynity put her hands on her hips. "So what makes him think he is your son?"

"Because his mother told him so, but she's wrong."

"So you couldn't be his father?"

"No."

Trynity sighed with relief. "I thought for a moment that you were cheating on your friend with his …his woman."

"I was," he told her with no shame. "Served Newt right. He stole every red cent of my hard-earned money and lost it all gambling. Larya didn't mind screwing around behind his back and neither did I."

"I thought you just said that you couldn't be Taeron's father, and now you tell me that you could." Trynity was itching to slap his face. His flight in the escape pod saved her from spending her life with a scoundrel!

"You wanted the facts, Dr. Nelson. Here they are. When Relena told Heero that she was pregnant, I started to wonder why you never were. Then Heero told me the cloaking fields used on the Deathscythe were probably the reason that I couldn't come through."

Trynity wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. "And you believed him? What kind of a dolt are you?"

"I was starting to think that Taeron might be my son," Duo continued, ignoring her insult. "That maybe Heero was wrong. But when I realized that you and Lars were able to have children, I knew Taeron couldn't be mine. After all, we weren't exactly the abstaining type, you and I, and yet we never…you never…but with Lars…"

Trynity stared at him, barely daring to breathe. Now was the time to tell him. She had to tell him the truth, if not for the sake of her children, then for Taeron. "You might be mistaken." Coward! 

"Taeron's mother seems to think so, but then she has everything to gain and nothing to lose."

"She must know. If I remember correctly, Calabrian women do have some reproductive control." Tell him! She couldn't! She couldn't do it! She knew this was the perfect opportunity to lay his groundless fears to rest and to clear the air between them. But the words would not come to her. Trynity was so distressed by her inability to tell him, that she couldn't even look at him. This was how she felt so many years ago, not knowing how he would react and fearing the worst.

Duo suddenly laughed, jogging her from her indecision. "By the gods, the woman wanted me to impregnate her before I left. She wants to have a daughter with me! I hope she gets what she wants because the bitch deserves it."

"Are you slandering my mother?" Taeron was standing in the doorway, his eyes blazing with anger. In his hand, he held his sword.

Duo stopped laughing. "Your mother belongs to no man's house, and neither do you. Do not raise that weapon to me, boy, or your mother is going to have to get herself another son, and I doubt she'll find a man foolish enough to do it."

Taeron took a step closer. "I am not afraid of you."

Duo started to draw his own sword. "You should be."

Trynity put her hand over Duo's and stepped between them. 

"This is ridiculous! A father and son should not fight like this."

Stryfe walked into the room and immediately his ever-present smile faded. "This isn't what I was expecting."

Trynity ignored him and turned to look at Duo. "There is one way to settle this. You cannot let an off-hand comment made by Heero Yuy determine how you treat this young man. If you are his father, you need to acknowledge him."

"What are you suggesting?"

"I will analyze his blood and yours. It will only take a few moments, and we will know without doubt if he is your son." That way she could save herself from admitting the truth to him about her own children. 

Duo rolled up his sleeve. "Take as much blood as you want. Each and every drop will prove that what I said is true."

"I do not need your human foolery to tell me what is true," snarled Taeron, yet he also rolled up his sleeve. "But if it opens his eyes, then I will do what is necessary."

Trynity didn't need to do the test to know they were father and son. What they needed was to have their heads banged together. "Stryfe, draw some blood from Taeron, and bring it into the lab." She grabbed Duo's arm and marched him into the other room. She thought it best to separate the two before they decided to settle their dispute with their swords.

"My, my," he said as he entered the large, disorderly room, "this place is looking better and better."

"Shut your damn mouth and sit down."

He did as she instructed while she found a syringe. "Lars didn't spare any expense, did he?"

Trynity came to him and jabbed the needle in his arm with no preparation. When he flinched from the pain, she felt somewhat gratified. "We didn't have a chance to finish the clinic before he was killed."

"I heard he was smuggling."

"So what if he was? Quatre Raberba Winner has a monopoly on supplies coming into this colony. His prices are too high, driving many people to live like animals when they cannot afford to buy even the most basic of necessities. And when they are weakened, he drags the men off to the mines where they are worked to death as slaves."

"I'm sure Lars made a tidy little profit for himself," commented Duo. 

Trynity placed the small vial of blood in the analyzer. "What little money he made I had to pay back to the Winner Foundation in fines for breaking what little law there is on this colony. Now there is nothing left. Most of my patients cannot afford to pay me, and from time to time I have to leave Mars to work on L12 so that I can earn enough to buy medical supplies. I didn't become a doctor to become rich, and Lars understood that."

"Is that why your children have to serve in the military?" asked Duo. "Because Nelson's lack of foresight have given them no other option?"

Trynity glared at him. "They chose their path because they admired their father, and Lars was proud that they wanted to serve the Cinq Kingdom. When their tour of duty has ended, they will choose what to do with their future." 

Before Duo could pass any more judgments on her life, her grinning son walked in, and Trynity noticed him wink at Duo as he handed her the vial of blood. What was that about? Taeron stood in the doorway watching silently as she placed the blood in the analyzer.

For a moment only the faint hum of the machine could be heard as it spun the samples, then Stryfe remarked, "I'm quite interested in this mysterious cave Shamara has mentioned. Are you not intrigued, Mom?"

Trynity drummed her fingers on the counter. "I suppose so. But I doubt it is anything more than a figment of her imagination."

"Is it so impossible to believe a Calabrian ship crashed on Mars many centuries ago?" Stryfe was obviously fascinated by this supposed Calabrian connection to Mars. Trynity thought it was highly improbable they would find the cave of her trance, especially since she had never actually been on this planet. And yet her encounter with the water serpent must have been more than coincidental.

Trynity looked at her son. "Are you forgetting there was no atmosphere on Mars? Anyone who may have crashed would not have lived long enough to carve a single mark into a cave." 

She heard the paper sliding out of the print unit of the analyzer and she picked it up to read the results. Duo wasn't going to like what she had to say, but then if he weren't such a stubborn fool, he wouldn't need to go through this.

"Just as I suspected, Duo Maxwell. Taeron is your son. The DNA is a perfect match."

Taeron gave his father a triumphant smirk, then walked out. Duo sat in stunned silence. Trynity heard Stryfe make a sound of dismay, and she looked up just as he snatched the paper from her hand.

"You must have made a mistake, Mom! This cannot be true!" Stryfe was staring at the paper, scrutinizing it.

Trynity shrugged and turned to Duo, but he had already risen and was walking to the door. She had some idea how he felt, and she hoped she would not have to go through the same. 

Glancing at her son, she saw Stryfe set aside the paper and pull the vials out of the analyzer. "You must have made a mistake!"

"I didn't make a mistake. These machines are so precise a monkey could operate them."

"Test it again!" Stryfe's hands were trembling as he put the blood back in. But he didn't flip the switch to turn it on. He suddenly seemed unable to move.

Trynity couldn't imagine why he was so agitated over a test that had nothing to do with him. "I know that you admire and respect him, but Lord Duo Maxwell has made a mistake which he needs to rectify. Re-testing won't change that fact."

Stryfe squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, covered his face with his hands, and when he took them away, she saw that he had been trying to stop tears. Trynity didn't know what to say when she didn't understand why he was being so emotional.

Then Stryfe reached into his pocket and drew out another vial of blood and set it on the counter. "This is Taeron's blood."

She stared at the small vial of dark red liquid, then turned her face to him. Trynity realized what he had done, and she felt as if the bottom had fallen out from under her. "Stryfe, I…I think we should talk." She reached out to him, but he slapped her hand away and shoved her back.

"I have nothing to say to you! Nothing!" He walked out without looking back.

Trynity picked up Taeron's blood, and although she couldn't see well through her own tears, she ran the test. The results were the same. 

She had to tell Duo. 

She had to tell Duo everything now. She couldn't afford to be a coward.

Picking up the vial of blood Stryfe had first brought in, she held it to her heart. "Stryfe, why did you do such a thing?"

It couldn't be true! Taeron couldn't be his son! The thoughts kept whirling around in Duo's head as he paced in this small clearing he come to after blindly following a path already made in the wooded area near the clinic. As he sat on a stump, he ran his hands through his hair, then covered his face. What had he done? All these years he had been so certain that Taeron could not be his son! Wasted years! He could have been the father Larya had wanted him to be, that _he_ wanted to be, but he had convinced himself that what Heero had said to him was true. He hadn't doubted it once until Trynity pointed out the foolishness of such a notion. But Duo had latched onto any excuse to explain why Trynity hadn't gotten pregnant when all his friends were becoming fathers.

A noise startled the birds in the trees, and Duo looked up to see Stryfe approaching. The young man looked agitated, and there were tear streaks on his face. Duo had already learned that Stryfe was sensitive and that the loss of his father left a void in his life. He even suspected a sad case of hero worship when he was on L12. Whatever had set him off on this emotional bender, Duo did not want to help him deal with. 

Stryfe seemed surprised to see him, so Duo concluded he had made this refuge in the forest. He turned and started to go, but Duo called out to him. "Wait! I want to talk to you."

Stryfe didn't turn around. "Say what you have to say."

"Back at the clinic, you seemed sure that test was going to go the other way."

"I was sure it was," he answered, his voice hoarse and tight.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Duo said dully, "but I guess I didn't deserve it."

Stryfe took a step away from him, then stopped again. He still did not turn around. "Did…did you abandon my mother?"

Duo didn't think Trynity's children even knew about their relationship. What made him ask such a question now? Duo had his own worries, so he didn't want to have to explain himself to Trynity's son? "That is something you should discuss with your mother. If she wants to talk about it, then you can get your answers from her."

"I don't need answers from _her_."

"Then it's none of your business." What had happened between Stryfe and his mother in just the few moments since he had left her clinic? He seemed to be furious with her.

Stryfe turned to look at him. The pain in his eyes touched Duo. "It is my business! I want to know if you abandoned my mother!"

He could see that Stryfe wasn't going to leave him in peace until he gave him an answer. "I thought she would be better off without me. Turns out I was right."

"How could you do such a thing?! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised after what you did to Taeron!" Stryfe laughed bitterly and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I thought I was doing you a favor."

"What favor?" 

"I thought you didn't want to claim him as a son. After I overheard what you said about his mother, I tried to fix the test so that you wouldn't have to acknowledge her son either way."

Duo stood. "What the hell! Why would I want you to do that? What kind of man do you think I am? I didn't think Taeron was my son, and I didn't think it was right for him to believe he was. I am not angry to find out that he is. I am furious with myself for how I have treated him." Duo looked past Stryfe and saw that Taeron was nearby, waiting respectfully, like the dutiful son that he had proven himself. Now Duo looked directly at him, meeting his eyes with his own. "I am ashamed for my neglect of my own son."

Taeron took a step toward him.

Stryfe also took a step toward Duo. "I…I'm sorry. I wanted to help you." He looked down at the ground as if he couldn't look at him. "I…I didn't give my mother Taeron's blood." Now he raised his head and Duo turned his gaze to Stryfe. "I gave her my blood."

Duo stared at him, at first not understanding, and when he finally did, he saw that Taeron also understood. Shocked and hurt, Taeron turned and hurried away. Duo wanted to follow him, but he realized there was a bigger problem here. What did Stryfe say? He looked at Trynity's son who was watching him for his reaction. 

They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and then they looked away as another person came up the path. Her red hair stood out in sharp contrast to the green of the forest. "Stryfe! Are you here, Stryfe?"

She came into the clearing, and seeing Duo and Stryfe, she stopped abruptly, and the color drained from her face. Duo wasn't sure what he wanted to say or do at this moment. He still had difficulty believing what he had just heard.

"Duo, I know what Stryfe must have told you…"

"That answers one of my questions!" interrupted Stryfe, his voice tight with anger. "I thought maybe that bastard left you when you needed him."

"I did need him!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"Not that I knew!" Duo clenched his fists at his side, wishing he could hit someone and knowing that only one person deserved it. 

Stryfe went to his mother. "You have some explaining to do. I just hope he's more forgiving than me and Quynn."

"You told Quynn!?" Trynity grabbed her son's arm, but he shook her off.

"Of course I did! I'm not as good at keeping secrets as you are! Before I go, tell me, mother, did Pops know, or did you lie to him too?"

She stepped away from him, tears in her eyes. "I never lied to him. He wanted to be your father."

"He was my father!" Stryfe turned and followed the path back to the clinic, leaving Duo with Trynity.

For several moments neither of them spoke. Trynity stood with her back to him watching as Stryfe disappeared. Duo tried to collect his thoughts, but they were jumbled and incoherent. What was a man supposed to think? How was he supposed to feel?

Duo knew how he felt: betrayed. 

Finally, he said, "When did you know?"

She didn't turn around, and her shoulders slumped forward as she hung her head.

Her silence was all the answer he needed. Duo fell back on the stump, too weak to stand as he began to understand. "Why…why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid. I was waiting until we returned to L10."

Duo stared at a patch of grass on the ground. The hurt inside was almost unbearable.

Trynity spoke again, this time turning to look at him. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I was going to tell you; I went to tell you that day, and all I found in your gundam was a note."

"A note," he repeated. He looked up at her and their eyes met. "Why did you wait to tell me?" He suddenly realized what a nitwit he had been on Calabria to have not known that she was pregnant. As he replayed what he could remember, he knew he must have been in the same kind of self-denial that made him disavow Taeron. Heero had known; Relena had known. 

"Trey knew, didn't he?" She didn't need to answer. All these years Trey had known he was a father, and yet he had said nothing. Duo didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse. Now he understood why Trey had accepted Taeron without question. He should be grateful that Trey had given Taeron what he could of his rightful place, and yet he felt betrayed by his friend too.

Duo took a step toward her. "Why did you have to wait to tell me?"

"I … I thought you would leave me."

He hadn't expected that answer, and his reaction came without his being able to check it. He slapped her, and it felt that so good he almost did it again. But Duo was afraid to do her any more harm, so he shoved her out of his way so hard that she stumbled to the ground and he started to walk away.

"Wait!"

He stopped. What could she possibly say to make him feel better?

"I…I thought you should know that I ran the test with Taeron's blood. He is your son."

"I don't need you to tell me that." As he followed the path back, he could hear Trynity's sobs. Damn! Why did he feel like crying? He dashed away a tear with the back of his hand. After all these years her tears still affected him. He had always thought that it was because their hearts were one, that he felt the same pain that she did. Now he knew that was never true or she would not have doubted him. Instead, she had cheated him of the life that he yearned for all these years.

He by-passed the clinic and went to the small house where they would be staying, the house she had shared with Lars. She had shared everything with Lars, given everything to Lars, his life, his love, his children. He wanted to smash something, everything. Instead he took his sword in his hand and ignoring Shamara who tried to talk to him, he stalked into the forest and started to hack his own path. He didn't doubt that Shamara knew too, had discovered it when she touched Quynn, and yet she did not say anything to him. Everyone had betrayed him.

When he tired of slicing up plants and shrubs, he stopped at a small tree and swung his blade repeatedly. A normal blade would have broken, but not his gundanium sword. When the sun was setting and his body was screaming in pain, the tree finally toppled over, and Duo dropped to his knees. Putting his face in his hands, he wept for everything he had lost.

By now he wasn't surprised to feel a cool hand on his back. "Do it, Shamara. I don't want to remember any of it any more."

"Our memories make us who we are. Trey would tell you that."

He stiffened, realizing Trynity was touching him, not Shamara. "You had better leave, babe, because I don't trust myself, and my sword is within reach."

"I trust you," she said softly, and he felt her fingers combing through his hair.

Duo closed his eyes and tried to fight the comfort he felt. She had often done just this same thing as they lay in each other's arms. "Did Lars like this too?"

She withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry, Duo."

"Do you think that makes me feel any better?"

"No better than your note made me feel."

He groaned as shame washed over him. "I never would have done it if you would have told me."

"That shouldn't have held you to me."

"It would have held you to me," he admitted as he turned to look at her. "I thought if you had time away from me, I would know if you came back that you…that you…"

"That I really did love you?" Trynity took his face between her hands and forced him to look at her. "You had so little faith in me?"

"Where was your faith in me?" 

"I can't change what I made of my life," she said miserably as her hands fell away from him.

"And I can't change what I did." Duo ran his hands through his hair, then looked at her. "We were kidding ourselves, Trynity. We didn't love each other. We wouldn't have doubted each other as we did if we had. We were a couple of lonely teen-agers with raging hormones and for a while we had each other. But we cheated each other, doubted each other, and now it's time to let it go."

Trynity wanted to deny it, to tell him that she still loved him, but she couldn't do it when he so clearly wanted nothing more to do with her. Maybe he was right, and yet her heart told her otherwise. She forced herself to smile. "We had a lot of fun."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad you found happiness with Lars. I'm sorry you lost him." He dropped her hand, and then he turned away. He stood for a moment without moving, then walked away.

Trynity watched him, and when he was gone, she had to take several deep breaths to keep from crying. She didn't know how much more mourning she could do for Duo Maxwell, and yet she felt as if she were destined to do it for the rest of her life.

"Mom, are you all right?"

She looked up to see Quynn. Trynity expected her daughter to be as angry as Stryfe, but she seemed only to be concerned for her. "I'm sorry Quynn. I should have told you myself, but…"

Quynn came to her and put her arms around her. "You don't have to explain, Mom. I've had enough time to think about what you did and why."

"How…?" But Trynity already knew. "Shamara."

"I didn't believe it at first after she touched me, but the more I checked into Duo Maxwell's past and your name kept popping up, I realized it was true. I had hoped you would tell me when I gave you chances, and when you didn't, I just accepted that you didn't think we should know. I guess I got a little angry thinking that you might have lied to Pops, too." Quynn hugged her. "You made a great home for us, Mom. Isn't that what counts?"

Trynity hugged her back. "Thank you, Quynn. I hope you don't think any less of Lars."

She shook her head. "If anything, knowing the truth makes Pops a greater hero in my eyes. He loved you so much that he accepted us completely. I never would have been able to guess he wasn't our father." Quynn sighed. "He'll always be my father, but I would like to get to know Duo Maxwell. You may not have been sure of him, Mom, but seeing him with Shamara, I know he would have been a great father too."

"I should never have doubted him." Trynity wiped away a tear. "I can't believe it's over."

Quynn helped her to her feet. "Whatever was or wasn't between you two is over. Who knows what will be?" She winked at her.

Despite her misery, Trynity smiled. Quynn had the optimism of her fathers, both of them.


	13. Duo gains a daughterTaeron gains a fathe...

****

Mars Colony

Trynity and Quynn walked back to the clinic together, and by the time they returned, Trynity remembered she had guests to take care of. Taeron hadn't returned, and Duo was with Shamara and the two scholars, while Stryfe busied himself in the kitchen slamming pots and pans around as he tried to prepare a meal. When Trynity entered the kitchen to see what progress he was making, he deliberately turned away.

Quynn hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter as Stryfe chopped vegetables. "So, did you have any heart to heart talks with Lord Duo?"

Stryfe glared at her. "I'm not talking to him!" Then he added, "Besides, he's not happy that I tried to help him out of his problem."

"The only problem he had was his own stubborn foolishness," commented Trynity as she put water on the stove to boil the pasta Stryfe had set out. That is what got him into this mess in the first place.

"So what is your excuse?" he snapped as he chopped harder at the vegetables.

"I feel sorry for that onion," remarked Quynn as she munched on a stalk of celery when Trynity didn't answer.

"How can you joke?" demanded Stryfe as he stopped chopping and spun to glare at her. "I feel as though my life has been turned upside down!"

Quynn shrugged. "My life was turned upside down when Pops was killed. Finding out about Duo Maxwell isn't a bad thing, Stryfe. I've always felt that there was something missing in my life, and now I know what it was."

"I didn't think that our own mother was keeping secrets from us," muttered Stryfe with a glare at Trynity.

"I'm sorry, Stryfe," she finally said. "I guess I didn't want you to know about a man you would never meet."

"Must have been quite a nasty shock for you to see him." Stryfe turned back to his chopping. 

For several moments no one said anything, so all that could be heard was the boiling water, the chopping and Quynn's munching. Trynity didn't know what she could say to make her son feel any better. She didn't even know how she could make herself feel better. Duo's words kept replaying in her head, over and over. _We didn't love each other…it's time to let it go._

The door opened, and Trynity was dismayed to see Duo enter the kitchen. She hoped Stryfe wouldn't say something he would regret, and she had to look away so that he wouldn't see the pain she felt. 

"If you're looking for something to eat," spoke up Quynn, "Stryfe isn't done obliterating the onions and I don't know what he has planned for the green peppers."

Duo didn't smile. "Taeron hasn't returned, so I think I should look for him. I remember seeing a village nearby on our way here. Perhaps he went there, but I don't know the way."

"It's going to be dark soon," said Trynity, still not looking at him. "It's not safe to be out when the sun has set."

Quynn hopped off the counter. "I'll take him into the village. I need some parts for the generator. I'll take good care of him." Trynity watched as she went to Duo and hooked her arm around his. "Come along, Lord Duo. I have some questions to ask you, and I want some dirt on my mother so she doesn't nag me so much about my behavior."

Trynity didn't hear his response as they left together.

"I hope they can find Taeron," commented Stryfe after they heard the door to the house close. "I owe him an apology." 

"You do," agreed Trynity as she added the dry pasta to the boiling water.

Stryfe came to stand beside her as he added the onions to the sauce he was making. He seemed a little calmer. "I can't believe I've gotten off on the wrong foot with him. I always wanted a brother, and now I've screwed up my chances of actually having one who will talk to me."

Trynity didn't know what to say to him. She didn't know how forgiving Taeron would be.

"I didn't know I'd be screwing up my own life." There was a catch in his voice and Trynity knew he was close to tears again.

"Nothing has changed," she said softly as she put her hand on his arm.

"Everything has changed." Stryfe pushed himself away from the stove and walked out of the kitchen.

Because the clinic was near the village, Duo walked alongside the crude road beside Quynn who didn't want to waste fuel on the short trip. At first she didn't say anything, but walked with him in companionable silence, but Duo could feel that she was bubbling with questions. He looked at her in a new light now, and Duo felt more than a little bit of awe that he and Trynity could have created such a lovely young woman. Like her mother, she seemed to be completely oblivious to her beauty although she did enjoy flirting with the men that were attracted to her.

He remembered that her initial flirtation with Taeron had ended quite suddenly while he was in the hospital and that prompted him to say, "You've known about me for a while now, haven't you?"

She tossed back her chestnut hair. "Since that day in the hospital, when I touched the princess." Quynn looked at him. "I didn't know if Mom even knew, or if Pops knew or what was going on. And I didn't know how to ask her straight out."

"She wouldn't have told you," predicted Duo sadly. Trynity hadn't wanted to admit that anyone other than Lars could have fathered her children. The ache he felt in his chest now wasn't from an ulcer. 

"I think her heart was in the right place," commented Quynn. She reached out to grasp his hand. "I'm not unhappy. I loved Pops and he can never be replaced, but I think there must have been something very special between you and Mom."

He had always thought so, but now he knew it had been just an illusion. "I never would have left her had I known about you." Resentment still burned inside him, and he didn't think he could look at Trynity without feeling it flare up. 

Quynn grinned at him. "I'm willing to give you a chance, but I think Stryfe is going to be a harder sell. Him and Pops were best friends."

"I would never try to replace Lars, but you have to understand how difficult this is for me. When I left your mother, it was with the intention of returning. I didn't think she would turn to another guy even though I knew he was waiting for that to happen." He stopped and put his hands on Quynn's shoulders. "I hope you can understand that I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that not only did he take the woman I considered my wife, but now I find out he took my children."

She smiled up at him. "I'm not even going to pretend to know how you are feeling. But I hope you give Mom another chance." 

Over her head, Duo noticed a tall shape in the shadows cast from the trees as the sun set and a dark orange glow was cast over this strange place. Quynn turned to see what had drawn his attention, then she said, "If you guys wait here, I won't be but a few minutes. The garage where I find my parts is just over there."

Without waiting for him to respond, she continued on the path, but she stopped by the young man waiting uncertainly in the shadows. "He's all yours," she told him with a wink, then continued on her way.

Taeron seemed hesitant to move or to even look at Duo, so Duo closed the distance between them. Although he had made strides in understanding the language, he doubted Taeron understood what Quynn had meant.

"There is something you should know," began Duo.

"I am sorry, my lord, if I have offended you." Taeron dropped to his knees and lowered his head.

"Why would you think you have offended me?" 

Taeron didn't look up. "I…I said things for which I do not have a right. You have been more than kind to me when I did not deserve it. I am not of your house, that I understand now."

Duo realized that Taeron didn't know the truth.

"I didn't want to believe what others said about my mother," he said, his voice quivering with emotion. 

Duo understood now how deeply devoted Taeron was to his mother, and if she could inspire that much feeling, then maybe Larya wasn't as bad as he thought. She tried to make him forget Trynity, and for that he had resented her. Duo could not forgive her for seducing him and making him betray the love he felt for the woman from whom he was separated. Larya wanted him to fill an empty part in her life, to protect her as no man ever had, and giving him a son was her way of bringing that about. Even Trey had recognized her desperate plan as nothing more than the desire to bring some stability to her life. Duo had been a fool to throw away the sacrifice of what little self-respect she had remaining after her slavery to Lady Xuxa by giving him a son, which he refused claim.

"Your mother is a good woman," Duo said softly as he reached out to touch Taeron. As he did, he realized that he was touching his son. His heart was filled with pride. "Never doubt her, Taeron."

Taeron raised his head to look at him.

"You are my son, Taeron. She never lied to you. She may have made an error in judging me, but that is not her fault. If anyone asks for forgiveness, it will be me. When we return to Calabria, I will be proud to make you part of my house." Because Taeron knew about Stryfe and Quynn, he added, "And you are my heir, Taeron, my first son."

There were tears in his eyes as Taeron faced him. "I will never shame you, my lord."

Duo chuckled and ruffled his long hair. "See that you don't, boy. As for drawing your weapon on me like you did…"

"I will never again do such a foolish thing, my lord!"

"So, do you think your mother would marry a man like me?" asked Duo thoughtfully.

"Please do not ask her, my lord," Taeron answered seriously.

Duo raised a brow. "I thought you would want me to make her my wife."

"I would like to see my mother happy," admitted Taeron, "But I don't think she could be happy knowing that you love another."

Taeron was more perceptive than he thought. "I don't think I can make a life with that other woman."

"There is nothing that you cannot do, my lord."

Taeron had more faith in him than Duo had in himself.

"Are you guys done bonding?" Quynn emerged from the darkness on the path. "I'm hungry, and I'm sure Stryfe is done cooking." She hooked her arms around both Taeron's and Duo's arms. "Let's get back there and eat."

Shamara had watched Stryfe march through the room and take the steps upward two at a time. She didn't need to touch him to feel the turmoil inside him. Although she wished there was some way she could help them all, she knew her parents would forbid her from meddling, and they would be right because she didn't know anything about their twisted relationships.

"You look troubled, my child."

Master Nazzar had put his hand over hers and she was surprised to feel nothing from him. She must have betrayed herself because he said, "I have plenty of practice hiding my inner feelings, my dear. How can I teach my pupil what I have not mastered?"

"I would like you to teach me to block my thoughts," she grumbled. 

"Dagan is very skilled at reading them?"

"How long have you been his teacher?" she asked curiously.

"When his mother left the royal court, she came to me and they stayed with me until Seighen forced them to return. After her death, I took Dagan away from the court, and since then he has been my pupil. He is not a very patient young man, and I have had great difficulty teaching him some self-control." Master Nazzar chuckled. "Once he gets an idea into his head, he can't let it go."

Thinking of Dagan's obsession with knowing what purpose the gods had for him, Shamara laughed. "He thinks he has been sent on a quest by the gods."

His blue eyes were piercing as he looked at her. "Are you so sure that he is not, or that you are not?"

"What do you mean? I am here only to rescue him so that I don't have to marry the prince from Teralon."

"Why do you think the two of you were drawn here?"

Shamara sighed with exasperation. "Not you too, Master Nazzar! We were both pulled through the wormhole and he happened to land here."

Elder Hardane who had been sitting aside quietly came forward with his scrolls, which he spread out. Shamara recognized symbols that were similar to those she had seen on the cave. "Master Nazzar is right, princess. I do not believe your arrival here is coincidental. There is a being here that must be waiting for the Guerani who carry the powers of the light and dark gods to unite."

Trynity came into the room. "I have something for you to eat. I apologize for my cooking and for the lack of company. I'll light some candles so we can see what we are eating."

Shamara watched as she lit the candles set on the table. The flames flickered and cast strange shadows on the walls of the darkening room. She wished Duo and Taeron were back because she was starting to feel frightened. It wasn't like either of them to neglect their duty as imperial guards.

"Quynn will fix the generator when she gets back, and then we will have some lights." Trynity dished up the food when they came to the table. 

Shamara picked up what appeared to be a long, white worm from a pile that Trynity had placed on her plate. "What manner of creature is this?"

"It's not a creature," said Trynity. "It is called pasta. It is made of a grain grown on Earth and which some farmers are trying to grow here."

Shamara exchanged wary glances with Elder Hardane. "This was not a living thing?"

"Of course not." Trynity laughed. "I know that you are used to eating different foods, but I assure you this is quite tasty."

Elder Hardane was braver than Shamara. Sucking one of the wriggly white things into his mouth, he slowly chewed it for a moment, then he nodded to Shamara. "Tastes a bit like sand slug."

"I won't eat it!" blurted Shamara, her stomach churning as she watched him. "Besides, I cannot eat anything that Taeron has not tasted first." There. That would save her from this strange food. The food on the human space colony was bad enough, but at least the governor's wife had tried to accommodate their diet. 

The door opened and Taeron walked in followed by Duo and Quynn. When he saw the plate of food before Shamara, he hurried forward, almost tripping in his haste. "Princess, I beg you to forgive me! In my selfishness, I had forgotten my oath to serve you."

Duo sat beside Shamara on one side while Taeron sat on the other.

"By the gods, Taeron," she whispered to him. "This food is made from grain."

"Grain! That is not fit for our consumption!" He looked uneasily at Trynity who was covering her pasta with sauce. "What is she doing?"

Shamara shuddered. "I do not know!"

"Just eat the food. It won't kill you." Duo scooped the sauce onto his own pasta and twirled the long strands with his fork. "Trust me. A little variety…"

"Mom made it," commented Quynn. "You might find bugs in it."

Taeron took the spoon and stirred the pasta. "Where?"

"I think I am going to be sick," said Quynn. She pushed away from the table. "I'm leaving before he actually finds one to eat. I should have the generator fixed in a moment or two."

Shamara noticed that Duo was staring at his forkful of pasta. "Are you going to eat it?"

"I'm not sure."

Trynity laughed. "Don't tell me you have developed a taste for insects!"

"They are a good source of protein," he responded. "I'm just wondering if you are a better cook than you used to be."

"I've gotten very good at some things," she answered with a half-smile.

He put the food in his mouth and started to chew, then remarked, "Cooking isn't one of those things. I don't think this is done."

"Stryfe had a hand in it too," she muttered under her breath.

Shamara giggled, then looked at Taeron. "I'm hungry. Taste it. Lord Duo is eating it, so maybe it isn't so bad."

Taeron picked up one of the noodles and it jiggled as he brought it to his mouth. At least that was encouraging, thought Shamara. He chewed on it for a moment, then told her, "I think it tastes like sand slug."

"What did I tell you?" said Elder Hardane while chewing on his food.

"I am so gratified to hear my cooking likened to worms," grumbled Trynity.

Shamara didn't mind the taste of sand slugs, so she picked up a noodle as Taeron filled his own plate. "I prefer sand slugs in honey."

"Roasted," added Duo with a chuckle. 

"The thick ones are the best," added Taeron.

"I'm going to be sick, too," remarked Trynity. She looked at Taeron. "I am glad you didn't go far. Villages can be dangerous places to be. The brigands attack them to capture workers for the mine."

"I am not afraid of brigands," boasted Taeron. 

Shamara sucked one of the noodles into her mouth. The texture was so strange that she started to feel queasy. She dared not spit the food out for fear of offending Trynity, then again she couldn't bring herself to chew it. So she swallowed it, then stared at her plate as it slid down her throat.

"Are you all right?" asked Duo at her side.

"Princess?" Taeron was worried.

"I am all right," she told them as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Almost immediately she felt herself being sucked away, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the eagle sitting on a low tree branch, a worm dangling from its beak. Shamara went to it and saw that it was a sand slug, so she put out her hand and the bird dropped the plump worm into her palm. She wasted no time in popping it into her mouth.

"By the gods, you didn't just eat that!"

Chewing, she turned to see Dagan watching her with a look of horror on his face. "Of course I did! It's quite delicious. Maybe I should tell my friend here to find you one so that you can see for yourself."

He put up his hand. "Don't do me any favors."

"I'm sorry I seem primitive to you, but our customs on Calabria were born of necessity. Many generations ago when the insects ravaged what few crops they could grow, the Calabrians realized they could harvest the insects instead. Now we grow crops to attract them." She smiled when she saw his bruised jaw. "Did my father do that?"

Dagan rubbed his jaw. "He is no soft, pampered ruler. How did he come into our trance?"

"He has done it before."

"Lucky thing he didn't fall off that ledge. The man has incredible balance! Not to mention a hard fist. He isn't around now, is he?"

Shamara laughed. "No. I am not on Calabria, so you may safely kiss me."

"After you put that thing in your mouth? I will pass." Dagan's nose wrinkled in disgust. "I cannot believe I ever put my mouth on yours."

"Where is your wolf?" She looked past him, expecting to see his animal, but it was absent.

"I do not know." He frowned. "Shamara, if you are not on Calabria, then where are you?"

"I have come to Mars Colony to find you."

Dagan came close and grabbed her by her upper arms. "Why? This place is cursed! I fear for you! I demand that you leave."

She shook off his hands. "I will do no such thing!"

"Why?" His knowing smile made her blood boil. "You want to be with me?"

"Ha! If I don't marry you, I have to wed the prince of Teralon."

"Avar? I know him. He eats worms too. You would be well suited."

She stamped her foot. "I am not going to marry a feathered bird man!"

"Why not? The women at my father's court thought he was quite a catch. My sister Ryana was especially sad when his visit came to an end."

"I don't care! I'm not going to marry a Teralonian." Suddenly the eagle came to land on her arm.

Dagan glanced at the bird and chuckled. "I think you had better start planning your nest because I am not going to marry you, Shamara."

"We'll see about that!"

"Sounds like a challenge." He raised his brow.

"One that you cannot meet."

Before he could respond, the howl of a wolf startled them. The eagle hopped off her arm and took flight.

Shamara watched it. "I don't think we should follow them today. Let's just stay here and I will prove to you that you cannot resist me so you will have to marry me." She looked from the sky to Dagan, but the spot where he had been standing was empty. She sighed. "Well, I guess I will have to prove that you cannot resist me _after_ we are almost eaten by some beast."

Although in the other world it was night, here in the trance the sun was shining, but this Mars Colony was a dim planet lit by a far off single sun. Shamara saw the eagle circling over a spot in the distance so she concluded that the wolf was there and Dagan would be headed in the same direction. Just to be safe, she drew her dagger and then plunged into the forest. Once under the shade of the trees and over grown plants, Shamara felt as if she were in the dark. She hacked at vegetation in her way as she followed the sound of the screeching eagle.

"Dagan, where are you?" she called out, pausing to catch her breath. The eagle didn't seem to be getting closer, and she couldn't hear Dagan cutting through the forest. "Dagan?"

Something slithered around her ankle. Shamara looked down to see that she must have stepped into a vine because it had wound around her lower leg. She tried to pull it free, but her leg was stuck, so she hacked at the vines, and when she thought she had succeeded, she felt vines around her other leg and thought she must have stepped into this bizarre plant. She swung her dagger to cut the vine, but her arm was caught. As she turned to see that vines had curled around one arm, she felt vines wrapping around her midriff and other arm.

"Dagan!" Where was he? This was becoming beyond annoying. Shamara wasn't afraid of a plant! Although she was effectively trapped, she didn't see any other indication that the plant would harm her. She was sure Dagan would find her before it slowly digested her, that is if it did have the ability to do so, which it didn't seem to.

Then she heard a low growl, and she slowly turned her head. At first she saw only the green of the forest. Yet now she could sense that there was another being nearby, and looking closer she saw two greenish red eyes peering at her through the leaves and vines.

"Dagan!" She struggled with the vines, but they held her tighter and several more wrapped around her. Shamara realized she must have wandered into a trap. 

The creature's face emerged from its hiding place. As it growled, it bared long, sharp teeth from which dripped saliva and foam. Shamara knew she was intended to be its meal, but she couldn't move as the beast tromped forward. Like the forest, it was green and brown, and Shamara wondered how long it had tracked her, the hunter stalking its prey. The beast stood on two legs and it towered so high above her that it blocked the light from the sun. Was anything on this planet small?

It squatted before her, grunting and sniffing. When it wrinkled its nose as Dagan had earlier, she thought maybe it didn't find her scent agreeable, but it moved in so close that it brushed her body with its snout-like nose as it examined her more thoroughly. Where was Dagan? Shamara could still hear the eagle in the distance and the wolf howled again.

The creature sniffed its way to her face. Shamara jerked at the vines as it began to lick her, leaving a trail of slimy, putrid saliva over her skin. As she fought the trap, she wondered where it would take its first bite. This was where the gods had meant for her to die? Was she destined to end her life in the stomach of this creature? Is this the destiny her father saw? Shamara could not believe that! Why would he send her to her death on Mars Colony? Because he had said she must make her own decisions and the decision she had made was to come here and find Dagan. She came to find Dagan because she didn't want to marry Avar of Teralon. Wasn't that the reason? Her head was starting to hurt just thinking of the possibilities.

The creature was nuzzling her neck, grazing her flesh with its sharp teeth. While it tickled, Shamara guessed it was just looking for a nice juicy spot to begin its meal. She tried to twist away, and the beast smacked her with his meaty, clawed hand. Momentarily stunned, Shamara went limp and could feel her own warm blood making a trail down her face. The beast immediately began to lap it up. 

__

Dagan, where are you? Her last thoughts were going to be of Dagan?! Why would she think about him when she didn't want to marry him, but was going to do so as a last resort? She should be thinking about her father and mother, her brothers and sisters, but instead she was thinking about that oaf!!!

The wolf howled again, this time the sound so pitiful that it drove straight through Shamara. Dagan was in danger! She had to get out of here!

Summoning all the strength she could from inside, she released it. The sky gathered clouds and a wind rushed through the trees. The beast grunted and looked upwards as lightening illuminated the dark clouds in streaks. With its dumb eyes the beast stared at the sky, then returned to Shamara to continue feeding off her blood. Shamara was beginning to feel weakened, both from this initial use of power she didn't know she possessed and from the loss of blood. The beast was starting to suck from her wounds.

__

Shamara!

She heard Dagan's call and knew he was in very grave danger. With what little strength she had left, she looked to the skies and willed the power to her, and she was amazed to see a streak of lightening head straight for a tree nearby.

When the tree burst into flames, the vines became limp and fell away. The creature had been thrown to the ground by the blast, and now as Shamara stumbled from the burning tree, she stopped before the beast now cowering and whimpering on the ground in primitive fear. Its teeth were red from her blood.

Emboldened by the discovery of her power, she looked to the sky and raised her arm to call forth another blast. The beast squealed like a pig as it was hit, and she turned her head from the bright light of the lightening bolt. When she looked back, she saw only a pile of charred remains and the air was heavy with the stench of burned flesh.

_Shamara!_

She took her eyes from the carcass, and after kicking it, she grabbed the dagger she had dropped on the ground and plunged back into the forest. The eagle was now flying overhead, guiding her through the wild, untamed lands. The ground started to become rocky, and the trees thinned until she suddenly burst out from the forest and came out on a plateau. The wolf was sitting on a ledge howling.

Shamara saw Dagan then, lying on the ground with some creature, not human, not beast, its body little more than a skeleton with rotting flesh clinging to its bones, holding a spear while two similar creatures looked on. The creature thrust down with the spear, but Dagan rolled out of the way then dived for the sword he must have lost previously. He saw her then.

"By the gods, where were you? Looking for grubs to eat?" He jumped back to avoid being speared again by the skeletal creature.

One of the other undead fiends saw her and rushed forward swinging a club that was covered with spikes. Shamara charged at it, leapt in the air and did a somersault, landing behind it and driving her dagger into its back. She was almost unable to avoid the attack of the third fiend, but she quickly seized the fallen creature's club and swung back, striking it in the chest. It shrieked in pain and backed away until it stumbled and fell to the ground where it lay unmoving.

Dagan was still holding off the last of the creatures, which was using the spear with incredible speed and skill. Shamara looked around for something to help, and when she saw Dagan's sword fly from his hands, she became frantic. Dagan managed to avoid another swing of the spear, but upon landing, he must have twisted his ankle, because he lost his balance and fell, knocking his head against a rock. Although he wasn't unconscious, he was dazed and couldn't move.

The creature gave a hideous, evil laugh as it stood over Dagan. "Are you ready to die, sorcerer?"

Shamara ran forward, did two flips to gain more momentum, and on the last flip, she propelled herself up using a rock that she carried with her. She landed on the creature's shoulders, then brought down the rock with all her strength. The sound of crushing bones, and the stench that accompanied the blackish matter that flowed from the smashed skull made her sick. Falling beside Dagan, she vomited until her stomach was empty.

By the time she was done, Dagan had sat up and she felt his hand patting her back. "I knew you shouldn't have eaten that bug. No good can come of eating things that are crawling around on and under the ground."

As she wiped tears from her eyes, Dagan pulled her against him and stroked her hair. "You saved my life, princess. Now it belongs to you. I think I can tolerate marriage to you."

She burrowed her face against his chest. "I told you that you wouldn't be able to resist me."

Dagan lifted his hand, which was sticky from the forest creature's saliva. "What is this? Gods, princess, you reek!"

"I stopped for a meal on the way." She didn't add that she was the main course.

He put his hand under her chin and raised her head. There was shock in his eyes. "You are bleeding!"

"It is nothing." She jerked her chin from his hand and laid her head against his chest. "I need some rest."

Dagan held her close to him. He was afraid that if she closed her eyes, she would disappear. But she was weak and trembling in his arms, and he couldn't selfishly keep her awake because he wanted to keep her near. So he held her, and soon his own eyelids grew heavy and he could no longer hold them open.

"Do not get yourself into any trouble, my princess," he murmured in her ear.

Then there was darkness.

The sunlight streaming through the trees awoke Dagan. Although he had what might be considered a good night's sleep, he was exhausted. His muscles ached, his head felt as if it had been split open. Had Shamara not arrived when she had, he wouldn't have opened his eyes at all. 

When he followed the howl of the wolf, he had expected Shamara to be right behind him. Leave it to her prattling to prevent her from staying with him. The undead creatures had come upon him at once when he emerged from the forest. All three had attacked with such frequency and ferocity that he could not take the necessary time to build his energy. One blast would have done them in, but he was unable to get away long enough to do it. 

Dagan cursed himself for not practicing the martial arts, but his father had not insisted on that training because he assumed that his powers would be all that he needed. Dagan knew now that it had been a mistake to rely solely on a power that was difficult to draw upon. Shamara had powers too, and yet she could fight like the most skilled champion in his father's armies. He no longer doubted that she was the first princess of Calabria. And now he was resigned to marrying her. He really had no choice after she had saved his life. 

Feeling like a fool for the position that he had gotten himself into, Dagan wondered how he ever could face Oxana again. She was so sweet and gentle that she would be hurt terribly when he married the princess. He had met Oxana while living with Master Nazzar, and they had been together for almost two years after he had saved her from her cruel father's abuse. Dagan had helped her escape the man's house in the dark of night, and during the chase, her father fell off his horse and broke his neck. She had no one else in her life, so she stayed with Dagan at Master Nazzar's home. He never would have taken advantage of her, but when Oxana came to him, he couldn't resist her. What was he going to do with her now? Would Shamara allow him to keep her?

That thought disgusted him. When Dagan married, he wanted his wife to be the only woman in his life. He remembered his mother's tears when Seighen made no secret of his preference for other women. Dagan swore he would never do that to a woman. For so long now he had been convinced that he would spend his life with Oxana. She had been his first love, and he was sure his only love, but now he had to face life without her. 

Dagan didn't really know Shamara of Calabria except through these trances. Perhaps she was not the innocent she portrayed herself to be. The true Shamara might be an ugly shrew. But Dagan knew that wasn't true as he remembered the only time he had ever met her. Their hands had touched so briefly, and at the time he had been ashamed to be so over-eager to touch the beautiful princess that he had used his uncontrolled powers. Now he wondered if she had used her power as well. The Guerani touch was reputed to be enchanted, so he wondered what had really happened that day?

"Wizard, get up!" Magnar was standing over him, blocking the sun with his huge, almost deformed body. "The boss says that you are able to travel with us. We go to sector Y497. Scouts report that there is a gathering of rebellious men planning an assault on the mine in that sector. Easy pickings."

Dagan stood. "What do you need me for?"

Magnar's shaggy brows drew together. "Are you refusing to come?"

Dagan saw the giant flexing his muscles and he noted the ax in his hand. "No. But I hoped to get more rest."

"You are a lazy sluggard! Let's get moving now."

Dagan rolled up the blanket on which he slept, then packed his things onto the beast he rode. The animal used to nip at him, but Dagan had taught it proper behavior, so now it was submissive. As he was about to mount the animal, he noticed a worm crawling along a leaf. Dagan winced when he remembered Shamara eating just such a creature. Then with a shaking hand, he reached out to take it between his thumb and forefinger. It wriggled in an attempt to escape. Dagan's gut twisted and wrenched as he brought it closer to his mouth. A sweat broke out over his forehead, and if he had anything in his stomach, he might have retched, but he hadn't eaten yet this morning and he had slept through the evening meal. Maybe he could try it just once.

Suddenly the thing was swiped from his hand and he was stunned as he saw Magnar pop it in his mouth and chew. Magnar then threw back his head in laughter and walked away. Dagan had dry heaves for several moments, which earned him the ridiculing laughter of the other men. He didn't care what the vile wretches thought of him. The gods were surely punishing him by sending him here. Somehow he had displeased them, and now he was paying the price.

They traveled most of the day over rough terrain, and away from the forest. The rocks and hills were red, as if they were covered with blood. Dagan thought they were, with the blood of the innocents herded into the mines to feed the monsters below. He rode behind Magnar and had to listen to his obnoxious boasting of the women that had begged for his favors the evening before. Dagan thought it more likely that they were begging for food. He had stayed at Quatre Winner's mansion until he couldn't stand what he was seeing any longer, then he returned to the camp in the forest to sleep alone.

Winner obviously thought of himself as an invincible god, and his son equally disgusted Dagan. The two of them openly discussed how they were going to get the healer and her daughter in their beds, and what they would do to them once they grew bored with them. Dagan wished there were something he could do to help them. Dr. Nelson had been kind to him, and Shamara said she had saved her life. Dagan had a debt of gratitude to the woman. Her daughter had seemed impertinent that brief moment he saw her at the healer's clinic, but hearing Malik Winner's complaints about her teasing, Dagan began to think she deserved better than what the degenerate heir to the Winner fortune was planning for her with the approval of his father.

But Dagan couldn't afford to worry too much about the Nelson women. Shamara was now on the planet. He feared she would stumble into some type of trouble. He wondered how she had come to be here and whom she had brought with her. When she had come to Bayman the governor of one of the moons had accompanied her, Lord Duo, a human who had returned to Calabria with Trey and had remained. Surely the human had come to the Mars Colony with her. Did they come alone? Were there more Calabrians? She should have brought a legion with her. Shamara didn't strike him as one with the sense to think of it.

Before he could contemplate the subject much longer, Magnar called a halt and shouted his orders. The hideout was just ahead in a canyon. 

Magnar dismounted along with his men and walked over to Dagan. "When they come out, blast them with your fire powers."

His order horrified Dagan. "You want me to kill them?"

"Now or later, what's the difference? They are rebels. Those that survive will be taken to the mine. Those that die will serve as examples, and those that escape will spread the word of the your mighty power." Magnar narrowed his eyes at Dagan. "Do you have a problem, sorcerer? Perhaps your conscience?"

Dagan looked away from him. "They are merely fodder."

Magnar laughed and slapped him on the back. "Now you understand."

Dismounting, Dagan went to stand before the line of men that formed a wall behind Magnar. Dagan wasn't sure he could do what Magnar demanded of him. The men were innocents trying to survive on a hostile planet controlled by a man who was most likely insane. They would leave behind women and children, children who would grow up to face this same terror.

__

You are gutless, sorcerer.

Dagan was startled to recognize the same voice of the undead creature that had attacked him in the trance. He looked over his shoulder and saw Magnar smiling with pleasure at what he was about to witness. Where did that voice come from?

__

Your protectress cannot aid you now. Where is she, sorcerer? Where is your shield?

Dagan felt as if he were surrounded by pure evil.

Magnar signaled to his men who tossed small bombs into the canyon. Dagan raised his hands, and despite his revulsion for the task, he called forth his power from deep inside.

"Now!" shouted Magnar.

Dagan closed his eyes and released a blast stronger than any he had ever done. The energy seemed to keep flowing from deep within and he began to feel it growing stronger and stronger.

"Enough!"

This time when he stopped, Dagan did not feel faint and weak. He expected to see the charred remains of the men he had killed, but there was nothing but a blackened hillside. Was his blast so strong that he had completely wiped all traces of his victims away?

"Bravo!" He heard clapping behind him.

Dagan turned to see Quatre Winner mounted on the ugliest and fiercest of the beasts they rode. He brought the thing forward, but it balked at approaching Dagan.

"You have frightened my gryffid," laughed Winner. "And he doesn't scare easily."

Dagan thought for a moment that he could now end Winner's miserable life and wipe these filthy brigands off the planet. "What are we doing here?" he demanded. "Where are the rebels?"

"There were no rebels," said Winner with a smirk. "Magnar didn't trust you, and watching you at my palace last night, I began to understand his reasons. But you have proven him wrong, haven't you?"

"I have given you no reason to doubt me," stated Dagan apprehensively.

"No, but I sense some misgivings for the deeds you have had to perform. Now I see you care as little as the rest of us for these weaklings. They deserve their fate."

The weak should be protected, thought Dagan, but he nodded his agreement.

"In the future, I hope you control your power. The boreworms prefer living flesh, not crispy corpses." Without another word, he jerked the reins of his gryffid and rode away accompanied by a handful of Magnar's men.

Magnar was staring at him without expression.

Dagan returned his stare, but he swallowed nervously as a slow smile spread across Magnar's lips. 

The cry of an eagle drew his attention to the sky. There was a great evil on this planet, and Dagan knew that it stalked not only him, but Shamara as well.


	14. Family bonding

****

Mars Colony Clinic

"Well done, Taeron." Duo reached out his hand to help Taeron from the ground, but the young man grabbed the sword that had fallen from his hand and jumped up on his own.

"I am sorry to have shamed you, my lord."

Duo sighed as he realized his son still felt that he had to earn his approval, and there were no words he could use to convince Taeron that it was not necessary. His eagerness to please a man who wouldn't acknowledge him had become a way of life for Taeron, and that would be difficult to change. Certainly a week on the Mars Colony was not enough time to prove to Taeron that he had no need to perform superhuman feats. Taeron was even now ashamed that Duo had bested them in their sword practice.

"I will try harder next time," said Taeron, swiping his sword angrily at the air.

He was sweating and exhausted, and Duo's muscles were already aching from the match. He couldn't imagine it was possible for his son to try any harder. As Taeron practiced his moves with an unseen opponent, Duo dropped down on a log. Pulling off his shirt, he watched Taeron's as he polished his own sword blade with his shirt. Until Shamara recuperated from her trance, they were forced to wait here at Trynity's home. Shamara was comfortably settled in the clinic, slowly recovering from bizarre wounds she had received in the trance that had lasted for days. At first Duo had been terrified for her, but after her apparent adventure had ended with the sudden appearance of her injuries, Trynity had taken over her care. Now she was merely sleeping while she healed. Duo hoped she didn't go off on another adventure before she was ready. Trynity was monitoring her brain activity, and if there was any indication that she was in another trance, Duo planned to enter regardless of any harm to himself.

"Hey, you can use that sword pretty well!" Quynn sat beside him on the log and took the sword from his hand. "It's heavy! Ouch! It's sharp!"

Duo took it back from her as she sucked on the finger she had cut. "It is made of gundanium, which they call imperial alloy."

"Is it as rare in the Calabrian system as it is here? Beyond the gundams, there isn't enough gundanium to process."

"It is very rare in the Calabrian system. While on the pirate satellite, I managed to savage pieces of Gundam Heavyarms and I gave them to Trey. He had the gundanium fashioned into weapons for his children, and when he made me governor of the second moon, he presented me with this sword." Duo remembered how touched he had been when Trey had given him the sword, telling him that he considered him part of his family. Since that day he had worked hard to warrant Trey's faith in him.

"Does Taeron have a gundanium blade?" asked Quynn as she watched Taeron do a flip and slash the air.

Trey had given Taeron the sword. Duo knew why he had been given that particular sword now. Trey was making Taeron part of his family also. Duo wanted to smack his own head for his stupidity. "Yes, he does. The emperor gave it to him recently upon the completion of his training as an imperial guard."

"He's pretty strong," remarked Quynn. "I have a couple of friends who would know how to put all that energy to work."

Duo turned to look at her. "You are talking about your brother."

"Hey, don't get all righteous on me! I get enough from Mom."

"Obviously not, or you wouldn't even have made such a comment." Quynn needed more discipline. Her innuendoes had been amusing at first, but now that he was aware of their relationship, Duo was disgusted. The Calabrian that he had become considered her behavior dishonorable to his house.

"Look, there's Stryfe lurking in the shadows!"

Duo wasn't fooled by her distraction, but he did see that Stryfe was standing in the doorway, more in the clinic than out. He was watching Taeron with longing, and Duo remembered that Stryfe had said that he wanted to learn to use the sword.

Having been discovered, Stryfe looked embarrassed, but he left the doorway and approached Duo and Quynn. "Mom thinks Shamara will be waking soon. The pattern of her brain waves indicates that she is regaining consciousness."

"That's good news." Duo beckoned Taeron with a wave of his hand, and he immediately stopped practice to come to him. For a moment Duo felt a little disoriented to be surrounded by the three young people who had his blood running through their veins. Too bad they weren't a family. Stryfe didn't look at Duo, but glanced at Taeron with the yearning of a boy who wanted a brother. Taeron didn't look at Stryfe because he was not ready to forgive him for how he had tried to cheat him of his father. Quynn, on the other hand, seemed to think there wasn't a problem. 

"Yes, my lord? Have I displeased you?"

"Do you have to be so formal?" teased Quynn. "He is your father, you know. Can't you call him 'Dad' or 'Papa' or 'Pop' or…"

"We do not use such foolish words to address our parents," said Taeron with a frown. "I do not hear you call him by those names."

"I didn't think he wanted me to," she returned, mocking his frown. "Lighten up, Taeron! You're not being judged."

"You weren't thinking of calling him father, were you?" blurted Stryfe. "How can you forget Pops so easily?"

Duo thought he might as well not be there. In fact, he wished he were not.

"Who said I forgot about Pops?" Quynn balled her hand into a fist. "Don't you ever accuse me of that again!"

Duo put up his hand. "I don't give a damn what any of you calls me. I don't deserve to be called 'father' by any of you."

"I would be honored to call you 'father'!" declared Taeron with such feeling that both Quynn and Stryfe seemed to be taken aback.

After a moment, Quynn said, "I don't feel right just calling you 'Duo,' and 'Lord Duo' sounds even worse."

"I'm not calling him anything," muttered Stryfe.

Quynn snickered. "I guess 'hey you' is good enough."

"Works for me," agreed Duo with a faint smile. Quynn was right about her brother, that he was going to have some difficulty establishing a relationship with him. Duo could only imagine how close he had been to Lars, not having had a relationship with his own son.

When Stryfe looked ready to explode with anger, Quynn came to the rescue with another distraction. "Stryfe, have you seen the provider of your Y chromosome's sword?"

Duo bit his lip to keep from laughing, but her ploy worked. Stryfe's initial hostility was replaced by curiosity as he stared at the sword lying across Duo's lap. Duo started to raise it to offer it to Stryfe, but he saw that Taeron looked dismayed and Duo remembered almost too late that on Calabria to be handle the sword of one's father was a great honor, which he had never given Taeron. Duo couldn't believe he had almost destroyed Taeron's confidence just to win some approval from Stryfe.

Instead, he held out the sword to Taeron. "Show Stryfe my sword."

He took the sword from him as if handling a sacred relic. "Yes, provider of my Y chromosome."

Quynn giggled.

Taeron smiled at her.

Stryfe's brows drew together in an even deeper frown.

Duo didn't dare laugh. This fatherhood business was more complicated than he imagined. Although he knew that Trey had his own problems with his many children and their different personalities, Duo hadn't paid much attention. At least Quynn and Taeron seemed to be on track to forming a relationship.

"This blade is made of imperial alloy," explained Taeron, moving closer to Stryfe to show him. In the week since their arrival, Taeron had learned the language sufficiently to communicate with little problem. The two young men were about the same height and of similar build although Taeron seemed to be a little thinner than Stryfe, probably due to his younger age. "The gems are from the Guerani hills, each carefully chosen by Lady Arora and Lord Apolo from amongst the treasure of their people to show their esteem and trust of Lord Duo. This sword helped our father gain victory in many battles over the rebels and traitors who seek to return to the old ways. This sword has drank the lifeblood of many."

"That's a fancy way of saying he killed a lot of people," remarked Quynn.

"Thanks for the translation." Stryfe glared at his sister, then turned back to Taeron. He held out his hand. "May I hold it?"

Taeron seemed reluctant to relinquish it, so Duo reached over and took Taeron's sword. "The emperor also gave Taeron this sword."

"My sword has not been bloodied yet," Taeron told Stryfe.

Stryfe took Taeron's sword from Duo. He stepped back, flexed his muscles, and then swiped the blade through the air. "This isn't so hard. I think I can hold my own with this blade."

Taeron looked to Duo for permission, and while Duo had some misgivings, he nodded. They both walked several feet away and turned to face each other.

"I'm afraid Taeron is going to get his ass whipped," Quynn said in Duo's ear. "Fencing was one of Pops' hobbies that he shared with Stryfe. His specialty is the saber."

Duo remembered the pounding he had received from the red knight eighteen years ago during Relena's ill-fated Knights of the Round Table gala. Too bad he couldn't have a re-match with Lars. At the time Duo could barely stand with all that old armor on, and he could look back now and admit that he was too weak to hold the huge broadsword. In addition, he couldn't see out the helmet that he had to wear so that no one would know he wasn't Heero Yuy. Lars had made a fool of him. Was Stryfe planning to do the same to Taeron?

"Stryfe was the junior fencing champion of the World Federation five years in a row," bragged Quynn, confirming his suspicion. "This Spring no one scored a single touch on him throughout the whole tournament."

The swords were clashing now, and Duo saw that both young men were taking a defensive approach, gauging any weakness of the other. "Stryfe might be a fencing champion here, but he hasn't faced a Calabrian with a real sword." He turned away from the rather mild swordplay. Taeron was probably tired from the workout he had given him. Although he would be embarrassed if he were to be bested by Stryfe, the thrill of using Duo's sword would more than make up for it. By holding the weapon in his hand he had proof that he had earned his father's acceptance. Yet Duo had complete confidence in Taeron because he was an imperial guard.

"Stryfe isn't really trying," remarked Quynn after a moment of watching the evenly matched contest.

Taeron was trying not to embarrass his brother, but Duo didn't say so as he looked at Quynn. "What skill do you have with a sword?"

"None. I like to shoot things." She pretended to load a pistol, aimed at her brother and pulled the imaginary trigger, then blew across her finger.

"Like mother like daughter."

"Did she ever kill anybody?" asked Quynn, leaning in closer, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"With a gun, not that I recall, but she tried to kill me twice." Duo smiled as he remembered both episodes.

"Is this a story I can hear?" Quynn's brows were raised.

"Let's just say your mother has a passionate nature." He pointed to a faint scar on his right side across his ribs. "She did this."

Quynn looked at it. "Not a very good shot, was she?"

"She let me off easy. I think she was just keeping me alive for other forms of torture."

"That sounds very interesting." Quynn batted her eyes innocently, and she was obviously expecting details.

Duo chuckled. "That's all I'm going to tell you."

"She taught me some good self-defense moves."

"I've been a victim of some of those infamous moves." The blades of the swords scraped against each other, and Duo noticed the two young men were at a stalemate, swords crossed to the hilt as they tried to push each other back until Stryfe balled his hand into a fist and popped Taeron in the nose. Stumbling back, Taeron barely had time to raise his sword to avoid Stryfe's victorious blow. By the look on Taeron's face, he was furious for what was considered a dishonorable tactic on Calabria. 

Regaining his feet and avoiding Stryfe's attack in the same fluid motion, Taeron no longer toyed with Stryfe. As Duo suspected, Stryfe was no match for the imperial guard whose moves were so fast he couldn't keep him in sight let alone land a blow.

"Pops taught me one or two himself," said Quynn.

Duo watched Taeron leap in the air and come down behind Stryfe. Stryfe didn't have a chance to turn around before Taeron whacked his backside with the broad side of the sword. Stryfe stumbled, but kept his balance and tried to counterattack, but his sword sliced through empty air as Taeron dived away, swinging his own weapon as he did.

"He called this one, the spine-cruncher," Quynn continued.

The tip of Taeron's sword grazed Stryfe's arm, and blood trickled forth.

Stryfe saw his own blood, and he suddenly became pale. "I'm … I'm hurt!"

Taeron's own face was bloody from the blow Stryfe had landed on him, but he didn't seem to notice. Now he stepped back to watch Stryfe, a bewildered look on his face as Stryfe swayed.

Duo started forward to put a stop to the fight although neither seemed very interested in continuing. But his progress was impeded when his arm was grabbed from behind. Before he knew what was happening, Quynn had jerked him back and shoved his arm up so far behind him that he was sure he looked like a pretzel.

"Don't bother trying to get out of this," said Quynn with a laugh.

Duo tried to pull back, but the position that she had put him in made a pain streak down his spine that was so agonizing that he shouted several words that made Quynn blush and release him. Duo fell to his knees, his back in excruciating pain. He was in the position of having to arch his back in or suffer even worse.

"You've broken my back!"

"I'll get Mom. She knows how to fix this." Quynn turned and dashed into the clinic.

"Are you all right?" he heard Taeron ask Stryfe.

"I'm going to be sick!" Then Duo heard vomiting, but he couldn't even turn his head to see what was going on. He assumed Stryfe was doing as he predicted.

"Quynn! What have you done?" Duo couldn't see Trynity either because there seemed to be explosions of light all around him. "I told you not to do this!"

"You told me not to practice on Pops or Stryfe. You didn't say anything about Duo Maxwell."

Duo felt Trynity's cool fingers on his back. "I think I'm going to die," he moaned.

"No," she said, "You are going to die now." She didn't warn him before snapping his back into place.

"Holy mother of the gods!"

"Father!" Taeron was shocked. "The gods will be angry with you!"

Trynity tried to help Duo from the ground, but he was too large. He was still in some pain, which she expected, but in order to treat him, she would need to get him inside. "Stryfe will you help me…" Stryfe was lying on the ground unconscious. Seeing the small cut on his arm, she knew the cause. He never could stand the sight of his own blood, which was one reason she was quite surprised he had drawn his own blood in order to 'help' Duo.

Taeron hurried forward and slipped an arm around Duo's waist and draped his father's arm around his shoulders. "I will help, doctor."

Trynity glanced at Quynn. "See if your brother is all right."

"Mom, I think he fainted in his own vomit. I'm not going anywhere near that mess."

"I will help him too," offered Taeron.

Trynity lead them into the clinic and after Taeron gently helped Duo to sit on an examining table, he started to leave, but Trynity forced him to sit on a stool nearby. "Let me clean you up." He winced when she applied antiseptic to his nose. "I don't think it's broken."

"Your son would be a good warrior," said Taeron as she wiped the blood from his face. "He could have been an imperial guard. But there is still much for him to learn."

"I don't think he could kill anybody without being sick. I doubt that would be useful in that line of work." She set aside the bowl and cloths. "Your nose will be tender for a couple of days."

"Thank you, my lady." He paused before leaving to look at Shamara lying unconscious on a cot nearby. "I, too, would find it difficult to kill," he admitted, "but if I must do it to protect her, I would." He stopped at the table where Duo was still wincing in pain. "My lord father, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Give that blue-eyed little witch a beating."

Quynn stuck out her tongue at him, then squealed and ran out of the clinic with Taeron behind.

Trynity picked out a liniment from the many jars and bottles on a shelf. "He isn't really going to beat her, is he?"

Duo laughed although it obviously hurt to do so. "His mother would never forgive him if he did."

"I am going to massage your back. Quynn's little move usually slips a vertebrae, but I popped that back in before any more damage could be done. The pain you are feeling now is a muscle spasm. I can ease it a little."

"Your daughter is a little sadist," he complained.

After moving his long hair over his shoulder, Trynity rubbed her hands with some oily liniment. "This will feel cool." He tensed when she touched him, though after a moment he relaxed. Trynity said nothing as she worked at the muscles on his back, but she marveled at how he had changed in the last seventeen years. When she had first met him, she could feel his ribs under her fingers, but now he was well padded with hard muscles that tried to resist her massage. His skin was darkly tanned too, no surprise considering he lived under two suns. 

The silence was broken when they both heard Quynn shriek and swear. "I thought you said Taeron wouldn't beat her," remarked Trynity.

"He won't. I'm sure he's teasing her. Larya has raised her son to be very respectful of women. She was abused when she was at the imperial palace serving Lady Xuxa, and it has scarred her relations with men. She's actually quite frightened of them."

So that was Taeron's mother! Trynity remembered her as the beautiful woman who had sneaked her way into Apolo's camp then kidnapped Arora and her baby to deliver into Prince Dilan's hands. The act had forced Trey to surrender himself to his father in order to save them. Larya had even attempted to kill Trey when her master, Lady Xuxa, had been punished. She was Taeron's mother? Trynity did not want to know how that relationship had been established. And Duo had said that Larya wanted to have a daughter? Was she even now carrying his child?

Duo moved his head around and his muscles stretched beneath her hands. "You are damn good at this."

"Lars had some back problems." She couldn't resist the jab.

"Lucky Lars," he responded, "to come home to these hands." 

Well, thought Trynity, that didn't seem to bother him. Maybe he had put his jealousy aside. She wished she could forget as easily as he could. Then again she had to see Taeron, tangible proof that Duo had found solace with another woman.

"Would you mind working on my shoulders? Taeron has been putting me through hell the last few days. I'm not as limber as I used to be."

Trynity rubbed more liniment on her hands. "How is your back?"

"Much better. That was a nasty move Lars taught her."

"Certainly no more nasty than the moves my father taught me."

"Don't remind me."

She was smiling as memories of putting those moves on Duo came back to her. "Quynn can certainly take care of herself."

"She'll have to be able to with that mouth of hers. Some man is going to take her teasing seriously, and she might not be able to get out of it."" He shrugged his shoulders in wide circles and moved his head around. "A little further forward."

Trynity had to move around in front of him. "I'm going to charge you for a massage." Duo's eyes were closed, and he tilted his head back. Trynity was about to put her hands on him again, but the sight of his muscles froze her. She hadn't really seen him with his shirt off, and as she stared at the rippling flesh, she thought it was a shame to cover it. With a sigh, she put her fingers on his shoulders and began to knead them in toward his neck.

"You don't know how damn good that feels."

_Oh, yes,_ she thought, _I do_. But she said nothing as she poured more liniment on her hands. She liked how it made his skin slippery, how he tensed his pectorals as she rubbed her hands over them. The room was becoming awfully warm as she worked on him. His abdomen was flat and hard, no spare fat there. She enjoyed running her hands over the ridges and planes.

"That's a little far south from my shoulders," he remarked, his voice hoarse.

Trynity's hands froze, and she felt her face burning. "I…I…"

Duo put a couple of fingers under her chin and raised her face up. Trynity was afraid to see his mockery, but his eyes were dark and intense. "I think those magic fingers better stop or we might end up doing something we'll regret."

_I wouldn't regret it. _Trynity took a breath and decided to throw caution to the wind. She stretched upwards, and she felt Duo's fingers slide from under her chin into her hair. He was bringing her closer, tilting her head and lowering his. She moistened her lips and felt his warm breath blow across them.

"Lord Duo?"

Trynity jerked back, and for the first time she wished a patient would just stay unconscious! But duty called, and she moved away from Duo on legs that were shaking. Could he see her wobble? Now she was embarrassed by her behavior and hoped that Duo didn't realize how eager she had been to be in his arms. What did he think of her?

Shamara was struggling to sit up. "I feel weak."

Duo swung off the table, and he was also unsteady as he crossed the room to her bed, but Trynity doubted it was for the same reason. She could barely concentrate as she took Shamara's pulse. "You have been unconscious for several days. We've managed to get you to eat a little broth, but you need to have a real meal."

Shamara gave Trynity a sidelong glance, then whispered to Duo, "Is she cooking it?"

Duo whispered back. "No. Taeron and the elder have been busy digging up edible food. I'm sure you will be pleased with their results."

Trynity shuddered as she thought of Quynn munching one of the beetles the elder had roasted in butter. "Duo is right. You need to eat to build up your strength."

Duo pulled a stool near Shamara's bed. "Are you going to tell me about your little adventure?"

Trynity stepped out and told Taeron who was sitting on the log between Quynn and Stryfe telling them some story that had them amazed that Shamara had awakened and was hungry. Taeron hurried away calling for Elder Hardane and Master Nazzar. Trynity turned to go back into the clinic, but the noise of approaching vehicles turned her attention to the path leading to the clinic. Seeing who was arriving, she shuddered with disgust.

The lead cycle whipped to a stop before Trynity, almost knocking dirt on her. Quatre pushed up his sunglasses to see her better. "Good afternoon, Dr. Nelson."

"Are you hurt or are one of your men suffering?" she asked with annoyance.

"Just me, Trynity." His slow smile made her shift uncomfortably. "I just got a shipment of champagne, year A.C. 199. I know how much you like it. Nelson smuggled it onto the planet enough times that I was wondering if you were bathing in it."

Quynn came to stand by her. "So what if she was? Jealous?"

Quatre narrowed his eyes at her. "If you weren't Malik's friend…"

"But she is my friend." Malik dismounted from his own motorcycle and came to hug Quynn and kiss her cheeks.

She threw her arms around his neck. "Malik, when did you get here? I thought you were on duty for another month."

"Father pulled a few strings and called in a favor or two so that I could come for a visit." He kissed Quynn's forehead. "I missed you. You too, Stryfe."

Stryfe came to him and they shook hands. Trynity smiled as she watched them, then her smile faded when she realized Quatre was watching her intently. 

When she turned to glare at him, he reached out to snatch her hand before she could pull it away. She tried to slap him, but Quatre proved again how strong he had become by twisting her hand and forcing it open for him to press his lips to the palm. His eyes raised to meet hers. "Trynity, why can't we have the same harmony as our children? They get along so well. If we married, Stryfe and Quynn would gain a brother."

Trynity doubted Malik wanted to be Quynn's brother although they had grown up together. Quynn may not have noticed a change in the way that Malik looked at her, but Trynity had. Even Lars had remarked that he didn't want Quynn spending too much time alone with the Winner heir.

"I already have a new brother," declared Quynn with a smile.

Quatre turned from Quynn to look at Trynity with his brows raised. At that moment Taeron exited the house carrying a covered bowl, the contents of which Trynity didn't care to see. Quynn disentangled herself from Malik and grabbed his arm before he could make it to the clinic. 

"This is my brother, Taeron."

"Taeron is your brother?" Malik was visibly relieved to learn that Taeron was no longer a rival.

Quatre looked at the young Calabrian, his expression guarded. "I have heard about you." He held out his hand, but Taeron didn't take it, having his own hands full with the meal he had prepared for Shamara. "I am pleased to meet you. Your father and I were once friends."

Taeron stared at him dumbly, then continued on his way to the clinic.

"I thought he might have learned our language by now," commented Malik.

Trynity knew damn well that Taeron could speak their language. She wondered if Quatre realized Duo's son had grossly insulted him. "He is in a hurry to take a meal to Princess Shamara," she explained lamely.

"Ah, the princess!" Quatre rubbed his hands together. "I was hoping to meet the young woman she had become."

"That won't be possible." Duo filled the doorway to the clinic. "She is too exhausted to have visitors."

"Duo Maxwell!" Quatre pushed past Trynity and went to Duo, holding out his hand. "I didn't think I would ever see you again in this lifetime."

Duo reluctantly took the hand held out to him. "Nor I you, Winner."

"A happy ending to a story! I'm just glad you had the chance to meet your son and daughter…Oops!" Quatre put his hand to his cheek in what was blatantly feigned embarrassment. "I hope I didn't let something slip!"

Quynn laughed. "Lord Duo received the shock a few days ago. I think he's recovering." She glanced at Stryfe. "I think we are all recovering."

"Delightful!" cried Quatre. "I do hope you will let us have a welcoming festival at my home."

"We didn't come to Mars Colony to celebrate anything. We are searching for Dagan of Bayman, the intended groom of princess Shamara."

Duo never did like Quatre, thought Trynity. Then again, who could stomach his exuberance? She hadn't seen this side of him for several years, so he was deliberately acting for Duo's benefit.

"A shame about the crash. Some of my men discovered the transport about a month ago. The prince did not survive the impact."

"We should like to examine the remains," said Duo.

Quatre shuddered. "What for?"

"I need to determine which is the prince and return him to his planet. The marital state of Princess Shamara is dependent on identifying his body or finding him alive. Trey cannot in good faith negotiate another marriage for her until this matter is resolved."

Quatre tapped his chin with his forefinger. "You don't suppose Trey would be interested in an alliance in this system?"

"If you are talking about your son, Trey has already put Prince Zieben on his list of candidates. He had promised to make an alliance with the Cinq Kingdom. I believe he had originally planned to offer his daughter Chaela, but if Dagan cannot be found, he may offer Shamara instead."

"I imagine that that Trey has become a very powerful man," commented Quatre. "I don't envy anyone with the task of keeping his daughter safe."

"That task has fallen to me and my son. I am not expecting problems on the Mars Colony."

"I will help you in any way I can." He caught Trynity off guard by slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him. "Maybe I will swing by later for a little of your special treatment." When Trynity gasped with indignation, he pressed his lips to hers and slipped his tongue inside. Before she could react, he drew back, whacked her backside and hopped on his motorcycle. "Come along, Malik."

Malik waved to Stryfe and Quynn, then got on his own motorcycle and sped away. Trynity was clenching he fists so tightly that her fingernails were cutting into her flesh. That little show had been for Duo's benefit! She was sick to her stomach just thinking about his kiss.

Quynn seemed to be reading her mind. "Where are those beetles? I need something to settle my stomach after that."

Duo who had remained silent all the while, suddenly said to Quynn, "Stay away from Malik Winner."

She turned to look at him. "Excuse me? I don't think I heard you."

"You heard me." Duo walked past her to go back into the clinic.

Quynn looked at Trynity. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

Stryfe guffawed. "You were perfectly happy about an hour ago to call him father. What's the matter? Don't want him to actually play the part?"

"Mom!" Quynn was outraged. "Is he going to chase off all the guys?"

Maybe that is what she needed, thought Trynity, but she said, "I will talk to him." She was going to feel very silly given her performances of the day. When she entered the clinic, Shamara had set aside her bowl and lay back. "I am going to sleep."

Trynity took a deep breath. "Duo, I need to talk to you."

He followed her into the outer room. She wished he had put his shirt back on. He was far too distracting when he was half-naked. "If this is about what I said to Quynn, I meant it. I cannot believe that if Lars were here he wouldn't be saying the same thing."

Trynity put her hands on her hips and looked up at him. By the determined look on his face, he wasn't going to back down. "Whatever Lars would have said is inconsequential. Quynn can make up her own mind about the young men she wants to see. I have known Malik since he was a little boy. I trust him. On what do you base your mistrust?"

"He reeks."

She was taken aback. "Because he smells unpleasant to you, Quynn cannot have any relationship with him?" Trynity laughed. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"

"This entire planet reeks of evil, and the stench of those two is unbearable."

Duo was so adamant that Trynity couldn't think of anything to say in response. This serious, unbending Lord Duo was far different from the Duo Maxwell she remembered.

"I don't know what it is, Trynity, but I see something in their eyes, smell it in the air. Taeron has mentioned it to me as well."

She laughed nervously. "Quatre Winner is such a jerk that when he is around he tarnishes his son. How can I convince you that I know Malik like I know Stryfe. My children played with Malik, and he stayed with Lars and I many times when Dorothy and Quatre couldn't take him on their business trips."

Duo put his hands on her shoulders. "You aren't listening to me, Trynity. I think I've become a pretty good judge of character. The boy is as rotten to the core as his father is. If he harms Quynn or Stryfe, I won't rest until my sword has drank their blood."

Trynity would have laughed if Taeron's voice behind her proved the seriousness of Duo's colorful threat.

"My blade will also drink the blood of any man or woman that would harm my brother or sister."

Trynity shook off Duo's hands, then walked out to where Quynn was waiting for her. "I suggest that if you want to see Malik," she whispered, "that you do it when the Calabrians are distracted."

"Mother!" Quynn grinned at her. "You are a little devil!"

Trynity hoped Duo wasn't right. How could he be? Trynity thought she knew Malik better than Duo possibly could after meeting him at L12 and seeing him infrequently. If Quynn wanted to be more than just friends with Malik, Trynity was not going to stand in her way. And she wasn't going to let Duo do it either.


	15. More family bonding

****

Mars Colony 

Dagan was pulling the saddle off his gryffid when it became skittish, and as he tried to control it, Magnar guffawed with laughter and tossed the reins of his own unruly beast to two of his underlings before marching up the steps of the Winner mansion. By the time the motorized vehicles that Winner and his crew rode arrived in the courtyard, Dagan had managed to tie up his animal. The father and son seemed to be in a very good mood, so Dagan wondered what filthy pie they had their fingers into.

Although he was loath to enter the mansion, the food served at Winner's table was the only edible meal he could get since Magnar's gryffid had killed and consumed his cook. When Dagan now entered, he saw Magnar already stomping up the wide, carpeted staircase to the next level, two grimy, scrawny females tucked under his arms. The other brigands were also finding women amongst the many frightened, starving females whose men had been fed to the boreworms. Dagan's lip curled in disgust, and he turned away to head directly to the dining hall where Winner had lead his own crew.

Quatre waved to Dagan, and shoved away the woman on the seat beside him. She skulked away like a beaten dog and was quickly snatched by one of the other men. "Kael, I am glad to see that you have returned and that you are conscious. Sit beside me and tell of your adventures."

Adventures? Dagan had little to tell. Fifty men dragged to their deaths to the north, another fifteen to the west. Seeing Malik Winner suck down a small tube of the vile liquid that had been processed from the waste of the boreworms made him wrinkle his nose. Dagan had to hold his breath and look away in order to regain his appetite because the stench emitted from the drug churned his gut. 

Dagan told Quatre of their progress over the last ten days with as little detail as possible, then turned his attention to his food. As he ate his first decent meal in days, he considered these despicable people and their way of life. If he could be assured of Shamara's safety, he would rid this place of the evil that infected it. Though Dagan didn't know where to find Shamara, he was certain she had arrived in a craft capable of taking her home again. When he found her, he would put her on it and send her back to Calabria, even if it was to marry Avar of Teralon. At least she would be safe.

"So, father, did you find Dr. Nelson's lips as sweet?" Malik had pulled a woman onto his lap and was squeezing her as if testing her ripeness. Although there was fear in her eyes, she gave him easy access while pilfering food from his plate. Dagan heard that women who gave themselves to Malik Winner were quietly disposed of when he was through with them. Who would miss them anyway?

"Very much so, and they were so much sweeter having tasted them in front of Duo Maxwell's face." Quatre snorted with laughter. 

Duo Maxwell? Dagan had been right! Shamara was still in the care of the moon's governor who was reputed to be one of the strongest imperial guards of Calabria. That was encouraging.

"He is going to be a problem," remarked Malik. The younger Winner picked up a knife and despite a cry of dismay from the woman, he sliced into her bare thigh. "Did you see how he looked at me? After all the trouble I've gone through of gaining the confidence of Quynn's mother, now _he_ arrives!" He rubbed the blood around on her leg, then licked his fingers. "Tasty."

Dagan looked down at his food, then closed his eyes and concentrated on crushing a growing need to blast these obscene humans from existence. The woman was now whimpering as Quatre chuckled, and Dagan opened his eyes to see that Malik didn't care what people watched his disgusting attentions to the female. As he grunted over her like an animal, biting a wound into her neck from which he sucked greedily, she moaned and stuffed food into her mouth.

Unable to bear it any longer, Dagan shoved his plate away and started to stand, but Quatre grabbed his wrist and forced him back down. "Duo Maxwell is a lord on the Calabrian world," remarked Quatre casually as if there weren't an abominable act taking place at his right elbow.

Dagan swallowed back bile. "He is a governor and friend of the emperor himself. Lord Duo Maxwell has earned the respect, and fear, of many."

"Maxwell won't leave Mars without the remains of Prince Dagan or the man himself." Quatre's blue eyes were icy cold. "I expect he will be dropping by soon to identify the body. Perhaps you could point it out to us."

A thud drew Dagan's attention back to Malik. He had dropped the limp, lifeless body of the woman on the floor and wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand before raising a glass of sparkling amber liquid to drink. "Delicious champagne, father. Did you, per chance, import enough to bathe Dr. Nelson in it as you suggested? I wouldn't mind joining her in such a bath."

"Don't get too eager, son. You can have her after I'm done with her, and only after." Quatre glanced at the body that the cowering servants were dragging from the table. Dagan knew it would be tossed out to feed the gryffids. "I hope you intend to leave enough of the lovely Quynn for me to enjoy."

Malik laughed. "I will have her properly trained and tamed for you."

Dagan cleared his throat. "I will identify the prince's body for the governor." And in doing so, he would somehow make him aware that he should remove Shamara from this place of corruption as soon as possible. Dagan did not dare to hope the Calabrians could help him. Quatre was far too suspicious of him and watched him constantly.

"That will not be necessary," he said now, proving Dagan's suspicions. "The bodies are so unrecognizable by this time that he will not know one way or the other."

"It's a shame the princess may be wasted on a spoiled prick like Zieben," commented Malik. "I'd like nothing better than to see that pampered brat at my knees and hear her begging for mercy."

Dagan clenched his fists and tried to calm himself to indifference when what he really wanted to do was burn a hole through Malik Winner.

Although Shamara had proven herself capable of taking on the most hideous and frightening beasts in their trances, Dagan didn't know if the princess could hold her own against a demon like Malik Winner. She was so naïve that Malik could easily charm her, just as he had Quynn Nelson and her mother.

"Don't worry about Zieben Peacecraft getting his hands on Trey of Calabria's prized possession. Long before he can even get here, you will have made her your wife."

"I don't want a wife," snapped Malik.

"You merely have to put on a show, Malik. Trust me, it isn't that difficult."

Malik snickered. "You put on quite a good show with my mother."

"Yes. It's too bad she started to develop some scruples."

"A little late." Added Malik as he smiled. "But I did enjoy watching her die slowly, just as I enjoyed blasting Lars Nelson into little bits."

Quatre stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I hope you didn't leave any loose ends at L12."

"I am sure there were no witnesses. The guard I paid to look the other way when I wired that device into his shuttle has as much to lose as I if I am ever caught. It's been a year, so I think his silence is assured. I later went to the hanger to wish Nelson a safe trip, and the bastard had the audacity to tell me he thought it best if I stopped seeing Quynn. He didn't give me a good reason, so I think he must have discovered something about our operations."

"We disposed of him at an opportune time."

"And I thought it was just because you wanted his prudish wife to put out." Malik drank more champagne. "Removing the beloved spouse hasn't helped your cause. In fact, I think it has hurt it."

"The arrival Duo Maxwell won't help either." Quatre took a quick drink from his own glass, then slammed it down so hard that it shattered. "I haven't worked this hard to get her so that he can come in to make the kill!"

Malik smirked. "Considering that he is Quynn and Stryfe's father, I think he's already bagged that bitch."

Dagan sighed. "If you will excuse me, sir, I would like to get some rest." He had heard enough.

Quatre turned his icy stare on him. "I insist that you stay at the mansion. Besides, I have a little surprise for you that may sweeten your attitude towards us." He pushed himself away from the table. "Come along, Kael. I'm sure that you will be pleased."

The only thing Winner could do to please him would be to put him on a ship and send him back home, but Dagan knew he was too valuable an asset to Quatre Winner. When he had revealed his powers in that mine to save his life, Dagan had sealed his fate. The last village needed only to see him riding with Magnar to be terrified. The women fled with their children, and the men surrendered rather than see their homes incinerated by Dagan's powers. Each time he watched the men herded into the boreworm pits, Dagan felt certain that the gods were angered by his acts. When the time came to face them, he would have to answer for his crimes against innocent humans.

Dagan followed Quatre up the staircase without speaking. He wondered what pitiful creature was going to be provided for his entertainment and how he was going to refuse her without annoying Winner.

"Some of my men found this beauty wandering in the forest. She claims to have hidden on the Calabrian ship that landed at the spaceport a few weeks ago." Quatre stopped at a guarded door, and the man stepped aside after opening the door for him.

Dagan entered before Quatre who waved his hand in an order to do so. At first he didn't see her, and when he did, his heart seemed to collapse in his chest. "Oxana!"

She had been standing at a window, but she turned, and seeing him, she hurried forward and threw herself in his arms. "Prince Dagan! They said you were dead!" Oxana dragged his head down and covered his face with kisses.

Dagan returned her kisses until he realized she had revealed his true identity. Releasing her and pushing her behind him to shield her, he spun to look at Quatre who was leaning against the door frame with a sly smile on his lips. "What do you intend to do?"

Quatre raised his brow. "I really don't know what you mean, _Kael_. As long as I continue to have your full cooperation, I really don't give a damn who you really are. Right now I intend to leave you alone with this lovely creature. You have seemed to be unhappy, and so I hope this gift will please you." He shut the door, and Dagan heard a lock click into place. The guard had no doubt resumed his patrol outside the door, so they were trapped inside.

He turned around and put his hands on Oxana's shoulders. "What are you doing here? Don't you realize how dangerous this place is?"

Tears glistened in her eyes. "I couldn't bear to believe that you were dead! When I heard that the Calabrian princess was coming here to find you, I knew I had to find a way to get here."

Dagan regretted his scolding of her and he softened his grip on her shoulders. "How did you ever manage such a feat? I doubt Princess Shamara agreed to pick you up."

"Master Nazzar convinced your royal father to allow him to join their expedition. I hid in one of his trunks." She smiled. "I fear Master Nazzar will be missing many of his things."

Dagan sifted his fingers through her pale, soft hair. "You are a brave woman, Oxana."

She stretched up to press her cheek to his. "I would do anything for you, my prince," she breathed into his ear.

There were no more words between them as he lifted her and carried her to the bed. She was as eager to be with him as he was with her, but when she cried her love for him and begged to hear the words from him, Dagan found them slow in coming. Oxana would not be denied, and in the end, he vowed he would love her forever before she surrendered to him completely. 

Long after she had fallen asleep, Dagan stared at the ceiling of this lavish room. He didn't feel the same sense of oneness with Oxana as he had in the past. Dagan decided that he was simply worried about her safety. They had been so eager to be together that he hadn't had any time to ask if they had harmed her. Dagan could not imagine Malik Winner keeping his hands off any beautiful woman caught up in his power, but Oxana seemed unmarred. Dagan reasoned that Winner must have realized her importance and kept her safe. If she were maltreated because of him, Dagan would not be able to forgive himself.

Instead of watching her sleep as he usually did, Dagan left the bed and paced for a moment before going to the barred window. The two small moons illuminated the skies, and Dagan looked to the forest. He now knew where Shamara was: at the healer's clinic, and she was protected by a strong imperial guard. What had Oxana said? Master Nazzar was here as well? Dagan sighed with exasperation. How was he supposed to help them all when he couldn't even help himself? Now he was responsible for Oxana's safety! The Winners would hold her hostage as insurance that he continued to follow their orders without question. Dagan was miserable.

Suddenly he felt warm flesh pressing against his back, and Oxana slid her arms around his waist. "Why did you let me sleep?" she scolded him softly. "I want to please you, my prince."

He turned and she fitted herself to him. "You have pleased me well, Oxana."

"Come back to bed and I will show you how I have missed you."

The promise in her eyes was impossible to resist. But when Dagan took a step from the window to follow her, he heard the cry of an eagle. Whipping back around, he peered out the window and saw the huge bird soaring over the backdrop of one of the moons. Was this a sign from the gods?

"Dagan?"

She was lying on the bed, waiting for him to return.

He was already infuriating the gods. What harm could come of enjoying what Oxana had to offer?

"Are you tired, princess?"

Shamara had sat down on a rock to catch her breath. She was tired. Tired of searching for the cave, tired of being away from her home. Ten days had come and gone since waking from her trance, and she hadn't had another since. She thought Dagan was staying away deliberately, a typical male who made promises he didn't want to keep, but when Duo returned and informed her that he had been presented with the Bayman prince's remains, she realized that Dagan was most likely dead. If not before, he had been killed since their last encounter. Why else would he not come to her? And why did she feel such a crushing loss in her heart for that buffoon?

Now she looked at Taeron. "I would just like to rest a moment."

Elder Hardane came to stand over her. "Princess, does any of this terrain look familiar to you?"

She looked around. "Everything seems the same." Trees and overgrown vegetation that didn't look any different from the trees and vegetation they had passed through each day in the search for the elusive cave surrounded them. 

Duo had gone ahead to slash a path for them, but Shamara wondered if it was useless to continue. Perhaps it would just be better to return to Calabria and accept her father's choice for a husband. She trusted him to do what was best for her because he already knew her fate. Then why did he all but send her here? What use would it be to her to discover Dagan's body? Was he trying to teach her a lesson about heartache? Shamara knew there had to be a more logical reason!

"Princess?" Elder Hardane was holding his rolled scrolls. Master Nazzar had stayed behind at the clinic to prepare what the beasts of the planet had left of Dagan's body to be returned to Bayman. She wished the older teacher of the prince had accompanied them because his presence was reassuring.

Sighing, Shamara closed her eyes. She had to concentrate on finding the cave. She was sure there was some link between that cave and her trances. 

But when she opened her eyes, she found herself sitting on a grassy hillside beneath a tree. Her heart began to beat faster when she saw a man approaching, his hooded cape whipping around him. "Dagan?"

He reached her, then pushed back the hood. Disappointment stabbed through her heart when she saw the golden hair of the man before her. "Who…who are you?"

Holding out his hand to her, he said, "I am disappointed that you do not remember me, my love."

His eyes were compelling, and she slipped her hand in his. He raised her to her feet and drew her against him, folding her in his arms. "I have missed you, so."

Although his identity was still a mystery to Shamara, she felt a familiar comfort in his embrace. "I…I am sorry, but I still do not remember…"

"Quiet, my dearest heart." He was stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head. Shamara closed her eyes and rested her face against his chest. "You have traveled long and far to join me here. Let us enjoy the moment."

"At least tell me your name," she asked, raising her face to look at his. He was so handsome that she was mesmerized.

"Camrin," he said softly.

"Camrin." The name seemed familiar, and yet she did not know where she had heard it before.

He lowered his head to hers, but she moved her face to the side to avoid his kiss. Being in his arms felt right, yet there was still something terribly wrong. "I do not remember you, Camrin."

His lips grazed her neck, spreading heat throughout her. Camrin lifted her in his arms, then knelt and laid her on the grass. "You do not fear me, princess."

"I do not fear you," she heard herself repeat as his gaze held hers. There was a light in the depths of his eyes from which she could not look away.

He pulled off his cape and after spreading it on the grass, he laid on it and drew her against him. "I love you, my beloved Ulfyna." 

This time she did not protest when he kissed her. She was so lost to his kiss that she was unaware when he had managed to unwind the belt to her tunic. When he laid her on her back and sat up to look down at her, she thought her heart would burst, it was beating so fast. He reached down to touch the edges of her garment, lying loosely closed against her heated skin. "Do you want me, Ulfyna?"

Shamara could not take her eyes from his, and for a moment she would agree to anything he said, but something in the very depths of his eyes made a chill sweep over her.

"Ulfyna?"

"I…I am not Ulfyna," she managed to say although she found it difficult to form the words with lips that were numb.

"Shamara!"

The call came from the distance, and she recognized Dagan's voice. At the bottom of the hill, the wolf was at his side, but it dashed away from him towards her, growling and snarling, teeth bared. Shamara jumped to her feet, and red-faced, she then turned to Camrin to explain to him that he had been mistaken about her identity, but he was gone. The wolf tried to attack the air where he had been, then yelped and scooted away with its tail between its legs.

Dagan reached her. "What did you do to her?"

"Where have you been?" she demanded, grabbing his arm. "I have been worried sick about you!"

Dagan lowered his head as if he were ashamed, but then he looked at her face. "Princess, what have you been up to?"

She looked down and saw her garment hanging open. With a squeak, she pulled it closed, then found her belt and turned away from Dagan as she wrapped it around her waist. "I…I think I was dreaming!"

"Do you often lay about half-naked in the grass dreaming?" Dagan's brows were raised. "I might suspect you of rolling around on the hillside with a man." He walked around the tree, stood under it and looked up. "But I don't see anyone."

"There was a man in my dream," she confessed to him.

Dagan folded his arms over his chest. "And what were you doing with this man in your dream?"

"He mistook me for another woman."

"Was that a good circumstance for you, or a bad one?" He was teasing her.

Shamara lifted her chin defiantly. "A very good one! He kissed much better than you!"

"He probably had a lot of practice with the woman he was seeking." Dagan chuckled. "I hope he wasn't too disappointed to learn of his mistake. Your kisses are nothing to brag about."

"You interrupted us when things were getting interesting!" Shamara wanted to kick Dagan. Did he not care that she was with another man?

Dagan sat down near the still whimpering wolf. "Did you kick her?"

"No, I did not!"

"Something has frightened her. And where is your eagle?"

Shamara realized she hadn't seen the bird, and she now looked around. "I do not know."

Frowning, Dagan looked around as he petted the wolf. "I feel another presence."

Shamara sat beside him. "My dream man?"

Dagan glanced at her. "Can you be serious, princess? Can you not feel the thickness in the air, the chill? There is an evil presence."

She laughed. "Don't be silly, Dagan! There is just you, me and your wolf."

Dagan's eyes met hers.

__

Do not trust him, Ulfyna!

"Who said that?" demanded Shamara as she looked around. She half-expected Camrin to be standing nearby for it had been his voice.

"Who said what?" asked Dagan with a raised brow.

"I've heard voices!"

"The gods!" Dagan stared at her in awe. "What do they tell you?"

She frowned at him. "That you are a worthless fool and that I should go back home to Calabria. Then again, I don't need the gods to tell me that!"

Dagan grabbed her shoulders. "What did you hear?"

Shamara realized that he was serious, and the look in his eyes was almost frightening. She started to tell him, but suddenly he blurred before her eyes and she was seeing two Dagans.

__

Look away, Ulfyna!

Shamara realized she wasn't seeing two of the same man. The second man seemed older than Dagan did, and there was great sadness in his eyes. He raised his hand to her.

__

"I am here, Ulfyna."

"Shamara?"

She continued to stare at the other man, unable to take her eyes from him. He seemed both sad and joyful at the same time, then the image drifted toward Dagan again, and the two became one. Shamara felt faint and didn't realize she had collapsed until she felt Dagan holding her close and stroking her hair.

"Are you all right, princess?"

She slid an arm around him and drew closer. Shamara felt safe in his arms. 

"You are trembling," he observed softly.

The screech of the eagle overhead suddenly reassured Shamara. She raised herself away from Dagan and looked at him carefully. Could the evil presence Dagan had felt been a part of him?

"Shamara, wake up!"

She opened her eyes and realized she had been dreaming and not in a trance. Yet she was disappointed because it meant that Dagan was most likely as dead as when she fell asleep. Where had she dreamt up the other two men and why did she feel such sadness upon waking?

Duo was standing over her, and seeing her rub her eyes and yawn, he sighed with relief. "For a moment I thought you might be fighting zombies again." He helped her to her feet. "While you have been snoozing, I have found the cave."

"You found the cave?" Shamara was amazed. The odds had been against them considering the size of the planet, but somehow they had managed to find the diamond in the sand.

Now as Duo led her down the path he had created, she had the sense of having been there before. When they reached the cave in the clearing, she noticed that there had been a recent fire that had scorched the surrounding vegetation and the side of the tree facing the cave. A shiver ran down her spine as the meaning came clear. She had been here already. Her trances were transporting her to far off places. How was it possible to be in two places at once?

She could hear Elder Hardane weeping with joy, so she knew he had found the images carved into the wall. Shamara approached the cave, then drew back as she felt a chill prickle across her flesh. Then she noticed that there were no sounds of animals in this clearing.

"This is a place of evil," she whispered.

Duo looked at her. "You smell that stench?"

Taeron exited the cave gasping for breath. "This is a vile planet! I do not know what manner of beast lives in that cave, nor do I wish to meet it."

"Leave the scholar to his work. Take Shamara back, and I will wait for Hardane to finish copying the script on the wall.

"I want to stay until he finishes. Perhaps he will have something to tell us." Shamara sensed that Elder Hardane might understand what was happening to her on this planet or at least discover some information in the strange writing in the cave.

As they waited outside the cave, Duo and Taeron talked for awhile as Duo rubbed down the sword he had used to clear the path. Shamara was glad that they were getting along although she sensed that Taeron didn't trust his father to ignore him once they returned to Calabria. But he didn't speak of his feelings, and Shamara did not intrude by using her touch. Unlike Taeron, she did trust Duo. He would be proud to claim Taeron to anyone who would listen.

Duo's problem was not with Taeron. Shamara knew of the deep feelings he had for Trynity because she had touched him enough to soothe the aches of his heart. Yet he denied his love by word and action. During the times Trynity touched Shamara to give her care, Shamara read the hurt and confusion in her heart also. Shamara couldn't meddle. Her mother had told her many times to keep the things she discovered with her touch to herself. In this case it was a burden that Shamara found difficult to carry because she wanted so badly to help Duo. 

Taeron settled against the tree and closed his eyes for a nap. Shamara wished she could rest as easily as he could. Instead she had to fear that the next time she closed her eyes she would be drawn into a trance. And now her dreams were invaded? What kind of fantasy was she having with the handsome Camrin, a man she had never seen in her life, before Dagan interrupted? Had Dagan entered her dream? Was it a dream or had it been another trance from which she easily emerged. It had to have been a dream! A man could not disappear into thin air in her trance. If that were possible, she felt sure Dagan would disappear rather than suffer her presence.

And why had Dagan seemed so uncomfortable around her?

She sighed and reminded herself that Prince Dagan was dead. If that young man were not Dagan, then who was he? Camrin had warned her against him. Well, not her, but rather Ulfyna, his beloved. Was it possible that she had completely misjudged the man who claimed to be Prince Dagan? Was that man still alive, and did he carry an evil presence inside him?

A noise at the entrance of the cave started Shamara, and Taeron immediately awoke and drew his sword. Duo hadn't moved, having seen that it was only Elder Hardane. But the scholar was pale and shaking.

"We must leave!" he cried out in terror. He hurried to Duo and grabbed his arm. "You must take the princess from this place! Her very essence is in danger!"

Duo signaled to Taeron who collected the scrolls that Hardane had dropped in his frenzy to leave the cave. "I think we've had enough of Mars Colony. Have you learned what you hoped, Hardane?"

Elder Hardane stared at the scrolls, then looked back toward the cave. "I have left one inside."

"I'll get it."

But the scholar hurried past Duo and plunged back into the cave. Only a moment passed before Shamara heard his scream, and could see him charging to the entrance. He plunged through the opening, and scroll clutched in his hand, but suddenly a huge beast shot out, and Shamara gasped as it's gigantic mouth opened to catch Elder Hardane in it's teeth. The man was crushed in its jaws so quickly that Shamara doubted he felt any pain. 

Duo had drawn his sword, but the creature slithered back into the cave, satisfied with its meal. 

Taeron dropped to his knees. "By the gods! Are we doomed in this evil place?"

Duo hurried to grab Shamara's arm. "We had better get out of here before it decides the elder was just an appetizer."

Shamara noticed the scroll Hardane had returned to the cave to retrieve. She snatched the blood-splattered papers as she stumbled along with Duo's quick stride back into the path he had cleared. Although they had come a long way to find the cave, they did not pause once in their flight. 

When they arrived back at the clinic, Shamara was out of breath and shaking. She collapsed on the ground clutching the scroll. The door to the clinic opened, and Stryfe called back inside that they had returned and needed care. Trynity appeared almost instantly, pushing past some of the men, women and children waiting to see her. Quynn came from behind the house accompanied by Malik Winner.

"You're hurt!" cried Trynity with distress.

Shamara noticed that there was blood on Duo.

"It's not my blood." 

"Where is the Calabrian scholar?" asked Malik as he and Quynn joined the group.

Duo gripped his sword and started to raise it. "What is he doing here?"

Quynn put herself in front of him. "He just dropped by to say hello!"

Taeron grabbed Quynn's arm and dragged her away as Duo quickly swiped his sword upward to put the point at Malik's throat. "If you value your life, Winner, you will leave now. Should you dare come here again, I will not hesitate to cut out your rotting insides and send your miserable, stinking carcass back to your father."

Malik swallowed nervously then paled when the movement pushed his neck into the tip of the sword and he was cut. Quickly he stepped back, and after a longing look at Quynn, he scrambled to his vehicle and sped away.

Quynn tried to twist out of Taeron's grasp. "Let me go, you jerk!"

"You are a shameless female! How dare you dishonor our father's house!"

All her attempts to escape had brought Quynn to her knees when Taeron did not let up on the grip he had on her. Tears glistened in her eyes as she turned to her mother. "Mom! Do something!"

Trynity didn't know what to do. Both Duo and Taeron were furious, and Trynity blamed herself for the advice she had given her daughter. But she still thought they were being unreasonable in their protection of Quynn. A top recruit at the academy, Quynn didn't need any man's protection, but now she had two men who felt honor bound to do so.

"I am to blame," she finally said, looking at Duo. "I told her she could continue to see Malik."

"You what?!" Duo was furious.

"I know Malik like you do not!" Why wouldn't he listen to reason? "He spent more time with Lars and I than he did in his own home. We were like his second family. Hell, we cared about him more than Quatre and Dorothy. How can you come into our lives and make judgments as you have?"

Duo thrust his sword back into its sheathe. "Maybe I see him from a different perspective!" He nodded to Taeron who released Quynn. 

She tried to hit him, but he easily avoided her blow. Then she marched to Duo and came close, raising her chin defiantly as she glared at him. Trynity cringed as he returned her stare. Quynn had never argued with Lars. In fact, she had adored him and he may have spoiled her. In the days since Quynn had learned the truth, Trynity thought her daughter was warming to Duo Maxwell.

Now she poked his chest with her finger. "I do not belong to your so-called house! Butt out of my life! I can make my own decisions about who I see and who I will not see."

Duo grabbed her wrist, and Trynity was infuriated to see Quynn wince with pain. She might have gone to him had not Taeron stepped in front of her to block her interference. "You may do as you please when you prove that you are a judge of character."

"You're hurting me!" She tried to get free, then to kick him, but Duo easily held her at bay with just one hand.

"Stay away from Malik Winner. If I see him here again, I will kill him."

He released Quynn and she stumbled back. Quynn rubbed her wrist, and after a glance at Trynity, she ran to the house. Trynity heard her sob, and she was filled with anger. Who did he think he was? What right did he have to dictate to them? Trynity was going to tell him exactly where he stood.


	16. A Calabrian tale

****

Mars Colony Clinic

Duo went in the opposite direction towards a stream that ran along the road. Stryfe shrugged and followed his sister, and knowing that he would calm Quynn down, Trynity marched after Duo. By the time she reached him, he had pulled off his bloodied tunic and was washing it out in the water.

"We have to talk," she announced.

He didn't turn around from his task. "We have nothing to say." He paused to look more closely at the garment and she noticed a splotch of green mingling with the blood. "What is this odor? That monster must have dripped something on my clothing."

"You are not going to distract me!" She grabbed his arm and tried to force him to turn around, but he resisted. He was like an unmovable tree. With exasperation she snapped, "Look at me when I am speaking to you!"

He tossed aside the tunic and straightened. Now he towered over her and she wondered if she had made a mistake. He blocked out the sun with his height. "You cannot change my mind about Malik Winner. The next time I see him here, it will be the last time he draws a breath."

"How do you expect to have a relationship with Quynn if you treat her like a Calabrian female who must be protected from her own decisions?" Trynity laughed. "What was all that business about the honor of your house? What house do you have, Duo Maxwell? A son you did not even claim?"

Duo clenched his fist, but he did not raise it. "I have worked hard to earn respect. I'm not the same foolish boy that you remember. Quynn needs guidance that you do not, or cannot, give her."

"How dare you…" Trynity was so furious she couldn't even draw a breath.

"Sneaking around and lying was your specialty, isn't it?" He raised a brow. "I'm not surprised that you would hand that skill down to your daughter."

She stared at him in shock.

He returned her gaze with absolutely no feeling in his eyes.

Trynity felt tears building and her throat tightening, but she managed to say, "You have gotten what you came for. I think it is time that you leave." Then she turned and hurried back to the clinic. 

The sight of the ailing people waiting for her help was almost overwhelming, and she pushed her way through without looking at them. When she was finally in the clinic, she dropped to her knees and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. She didn't have time to cry!

"Mom?" Stryfe had followed her inside. "Are you all right?"

She nodded and was thankful that the urge to cry had passed. "I have a headache."

"So does Quynn. I think both of you caught it from Duo Maxwell." Stryfe shoved his hands in his pockets. "Mom, you don't think Maxwell is right about Malik, do you?"

She looked at him as she stood and smoothed out her lab coat. "How can you ask such a question?"

Stryfe looked down at his feet and shrugged. "I heard some rumors at the Academy, but I didn't believe any of it. A lot of guys were jealous of his money."

"What kind of rumors?" asked Trynity fearfully. She would die of shame if Duo proved to be right.

"We had better talk about this later. There's at least five sick children among the patients."

She nodded. "You're right. I want to see the children first."

The door opened and Shamara slipped inside. "Do you want any help, Dr. Nelson?"

Trynity went to her. "I'm sure witnessing the death of Elder Hardane must be quite shocking to you, but such occurrences are a way of life here. You were not hurt in the boreworm attack?"

"I was not harmed. My mother is going to be upset about his death. She was hoping he could shed some light on the history of our people." Shamara sighed and gave Trynity a sympathetic look. "As for Lord Duo's behavior, well, I am Calabrian. I have heard the same speech many times delivered to my sisters and me. Lord Duo is only trying to protect her."

"She doesn't need protection," stated Trynity emphatically. She nodded to Stryfe who left and returned quickly with a sick little girl. She was coughing and wheezing, and listening to her chest, she found it filled with fluid, so Trynity decided to dose her with an antibiotic.

"Where is your mother?" she asked the wide-eyed child who looked as though she hadn't bathed in weeks.

"Mama is gone," she said.

Sighing, Trynity turned away to prepare. The child's mother was likely another victim of the forced labor in the mines. After her child's father had been dragged to the mines, she had probably turned to prostitution to survive and was killed by some brigand that had no respect for human life. What future did this little girl have to look forward to? Hearing the child whimpering now, frightened and sick, Trynity had to push back her own feelings. She couldn't become emotionally involved with her patients. That phrase been repeated over and over again to her, first by her teachers at medical school, then by the supervisors at the hospitals where she had completed her training.

"You have very pretty eyes," she heard Shamara say. "If you cry, they will become red and puffy. Let me wipe your tears away."

Trynity turned around with the hypodermic needle in her hand. Shamara had squatted before the little girl and was gently wiping away the tears from her soiled face. Immediately the child stopped whimpering and she stared in awe at Shamara. Shamara took her face between her hands, and Trynity watched as a faint white glow outlined Shamara, then encompassed the little girl. After a moment, she released her and patted her head.

The little girl flashed her a toothless smile, and Trynity waited a moment for her to cough or wheeze when taking a breath. When she didn't, Trynity took her stethoscope and listened to her lungs and found them clear. "You feel better?" she asked her.

The little girl nodded, and Trynity lead her back out to the woman who had brought her to the clinic. The woman had been feeding the child scraps from her table and decided to bring her to the clinic when she started to sound like a dying animal. Trynity told her that the child hadn't been as sick as they thought. She had to say something to explain her miraculous recovery or people seeking Shamara's cure would overrun the clinic. She told Stryfe to hold off the next patient until she had a chance to talk to Shamara.

Shamara was standing at the window with her arms raised to the sky, her eyes closed. Trynity knew she was praying, so she waited until she finished before speaking. "If I hadn't heard the story of your uncle resurrecting your mother and read Duo's medical report, I wouldn't believe what I just saw."

Shamara appeared to be worried. "I couldn't let her suffer, Dr. Nelson."

"I understand." She stared at Shamara for a moment, then said, "To see a sick child is heart-breaking. If you are certain you will not be harmed, I will allow you to heal them, but only if you allow me to observe how you do it."

Shamara smiled. "I have been given the power by the gods."

Trynity thought there was a more logical reason, so after fixing wireless sensors to collect data beneath Shamara's hair where they couldn't be seen, she settled at her scope and watched the changes in Shamara's brain waves as she cared for the half dozen children. As Trynity suspected, there was a change in a part of the brain that was not utilized by humans. Had the Guerani people learned to control the pulses of their brains? Could a human also learn to do it?

After the children had been cared for, Trynity insisted that Shamara wear gloves when touching the patients so that she would not be tempted to heal them. Shamara agreed because she was feeling drained from using her powers. Trynity decided to attach the sensors to her own head, then went about caring for her patients. The sun had already disappeared under the horizon before she was able to turn back to the scope. She printed the results of both tests, then accompanied Shamara back to the house.

Master Nazzar expressed his sympathy to Shamara over the death of Elder Hardane. The two men had struck up a friendship, so he genuinely regretted the death. Duo was sitting in the chair that Lars used to sit in to rest after a day at the spaceport where he managed flight schedules when not piloting his own transport. Whereas Lars would come to kiss her and bring her a cold drink after such a grueling day at the clinic, Duo sat watching her, drumming his fingers on the arms of the padded chair. Trynity felt disoriented and sad, and she desperately wished she could feel Lars' comforting arms around her.

Stryfe popped his head out from the kitchen. "I'll have the meal on the table in a jiffy. So don't worry, Mom."

Remembering his remark earlier, she set aside her papers and joined him. He had a special dish set aside for Shamara and Taeron, and Trynity cringed as she imagined him digging under rocks to find a meal the Calabrian princess could stomach.

"I want to discuss what you said earlier today," she said, leaning against the counter and looking at his face.

Stryfe was stirring soup, and he didn't look at her. "There were some girls who claimed he did some things to them…"

"What kinds of things?" asked Trynity. 

Stryfe shrugged. "You know girls."

Trynity frowned at him. "Apparently, I don't know girls. Maybe you should explain yourself."

Her son stopped stirring and turned to look at her. "They all knew Malik could pay to shut them up, so they started making up stories."

"Is that his version?" Trynity squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then looked at him again. "What did they say?"

"It's ridiculous, Mom! You wouldn't believe it!_ I_ didn't believe it!"

"I'd like to be given the chance to hear what was said and I will judge for myself."

He looked away from her. "They said he liked to cut them and suck their blood when they…well…you know."

Trynity stared at him in disbelief. "How many woman made the same claim?"

"I don't know. Five or six that Malik told me about."

"Malik told you!" Trynity wondered if Malik just casually brought up his bizarre blood-sucking fetish. How would such a thing come up in a conversation? "Five or six?!"

Stryfe shifted uncomfortably and rubbed his neck. "Malik just wanted me to know that it wasn't true, that these women were making up stories to get money. His father paid them all generously to stop slandering him."

"Did any of these women have a link to each other?" When Stryfe didn't respond, Trynity slammed her hand on the counter.

"Why didn't you tell me? Does Quynn know about any of this?"

"If she does, she has never mentioned it to me."

Somehow Malik had managed to keep his disgusting secret from Quynn. "I think we had better tell her the truth, don't you?"

"Well, she's so pissed that she's locked her door. When I tried to talk to her, she only had some choice words about Duo Maxwell."

"I suppose it's better to let her cool off." 

As she suspected, Quynn did not come to the table to eat, but neither did Taeron, so Trynity wondered if the two had an argument. Taeron took his duties seriously, both as imperial guard and as brother. He and Quynn had seemed to get along very well until today. Quynn just didn't understand the highly patriarchal Calabrian society. Trynity had learned that although women were given greater respect since Trey's ascent to the imperial throne, men still sheltered and protected them in order to maintain the honor of their house. When had Duo become a Calabrian? He acted every bit as primitive as any Calabrian despite his human blood and upbringing.

The meal was a quiet affair. The death of Elder Hardane could be blamed as much as the outburst between Duo and Quynn. Duo didn't seem to notice the empty chair beside Shamara or beside him where Quynn had put herself for every meal. Between spoonfuls of soup, he reached in to Shamara's bowl for more traditional Calabrian fare. Trynity kept her eyes away from them.

"Did you try these?" she heard Shamara ask, breaking the silence. "They are particularly tasty."

Trynity heard some crunching, then Duo said, "You are right. Where did you get them, Stryfe?"

"You don't want to know."

Trynity sighed with relief. 

"Well, now that Hardane is gone," remarked Duo, "how are the scripts going to be translated. Master Nazzar, I believe you have some knowledge in Guerani writing."

"I have not studied it extensively," the old man told him.

"I would be willing to look at them," offered Stryfe. "Elder Hardane had taught me some elements of the symbols. I think if I tried, I might be able to decipher more."

"Stryfe has mastered several languages," pointed out Trynity, quite proud of her son's accomplishments. She had only been able to learn Calabrian, and then only out of necessity. "He spent a summer in Alexandria studying ancient hieroglyphs."

Duo glanced at Trynity. "In that case, we may have to delay our departure to give Stryfe time to study the scrolls."

She felt her cheeks heat, and she looked quickly at her food. Trynity was ashamed that Duo's intuition was proving to be more correct than her logical conclusions about Malik. Her mistake proved she was an awful judge of human character.

After the meal concluded, Trynity separated herself from the group to sit at her desk with the stack of papers she had brought from the clinic. She found it difficult to concentrate on the graphs and diagrams and the information printed from the scope. Her brain patterns were so different from Shamara's that she began to lose hope that a human could use the portion of the brain that Shamara had tapped to heal those children. 

Then she noticed one particular report showed a trace of activity in her own brain. She looked at the name of the patient and sighed. The young woman was pregnant with her first child, her husband had disappeared, and now she was suffering from pain in her head. Upon examination, Trynity discovered she had an inoperable tumor and would die before the child could be born. The distress she felt for the woman was agonizing until she remembered the warnings of her teachers. Had she not distanced herself, she was sure she couldn't have seen any more patients that day. Although she made arrangements to have the woman transported to L12 for care, Trynity knew it was useless. The woman and her unborn child were going to die.

Shamara came to sit near her. "I feel your sadness, even across the room."

Trynity looked at her. "Sometimes I don't think I can bear the suffering of others."

"Yet you continue to ease their pain."

Trynity looked back at her papers. "How did you learn to heal?"

"I watched my mother's brother. When I showed an interest, Apolo helped me to learn the skill. His gift is very strong."

"He taught you?" Trynity sat back in her chair to look at her. "Do you think you could teach me?"

Shamara shook her head. "Our ability is a gift from the gods."

Although she knew Shamara wouldn't understand, Trynity showed her the printouts and explained them in simple terms she could understand. She concluded by saying, "You have no additional part of your brain that I do not. What you have is the ability to channel healing energy from within."

"It is very difficult," said Shamara. "At first I would become very sick and depressed."

"You must give me lessons, as Apolo did with you."

Shamara sighed. "How can I do so when you do not show our gods the reverence to which they are entitled? You speak of physical abilities, and yet the healing power comes from the heart and from the gods. After I heal, I give thanks to the gods for allowing me to be a humble servant of their mercy. Would you do the same?"

Trynity had no response. She did not believe in supernatural powers. If there were higher beings, then why had they allowed her life to tangle so badly? What had she done to lose her mother, and why had they closed the wormhole, separating her from the first person to give her life meaning.

Now a ripple of calm washed through Trynity, and she realized that Shamara had laid her hand over hers. "The gods have heard your cries. Did they not bring Lord Duo back to you?"

Drawing her hand away from the princess, she said, "I don't think anyone understands the workings of space. But I highly doubt some mystical beings are responsible for the rips and tears that form wormholes."

"Even knowing the story of my father and mother, you still cannot believe?" Innocent, trusting Shamara could not fathom Trynity's skepticism. Perhaps it was useless to argue with her.

"I know what I saw, Shamara. Your father did not enter that wormhole because the gods had preordained it. He was in a drug-induced state and was attempting suicide."

"He told me," argued Shamara, "that hearing my cries saved his life. Surely the gods had allowed him to hear what another would not."

"Shamara, what saved his life was that the energy surge from the wormhole temporarily shorted out the self-detonation sequence in his gundam."

The young princess sighed. "Some day, Dr. Nelson, you will need to call upon the gods for help."

"And they will not be there because I have scorned them?" Trynity raised a brow. They hadn't been there for her up to now.

"The gods are more forgiving that we mortals. If you believe in them, they will come to you."

Trynity looked away. That was not likely to happen in the near future.

"Master Nazzar," spoke up Stryfe, looking up from his examination of a scroll. Trynity noted that it was the scroll that was splattered with blood, the scroll that had cost the Calabrian scholar his life. "I see this symbol repeatedly throughout the text. Do you understand the significance?"

The old man looked at the scroll, and Trynity was sure his eyes had widened in surprise before he looked away. "That symbol represents the demi-god, Camridaeus, guardian of the underworld."

"Why do you suppose Hardane copied it so many times? Could this be a story about Camridaeus?"

Master Nazzar shrugged, then steepled his fingers and sat back. But he said no more.

Shamara looked at the scroll. "I remember seeing those symbols in the cave." She looked directly at the Bayman teacher. "Is there something you do not wish us to know? Perhaps it may explain the elder's death."

Trynity sighed. "Shamara, the elder was consumed by a boreworm. Usually they hide underground, but occasionally they come up for nourishment. I doubt the beast stopped to read the writing on wall before deciding to kill the elder."

Shamara ignored her. "Please, master, will you tell us something?"

He still hesitated, then with a deep sigh, he said, "There is a cult following of Camridaeus, which began thousands of years ago, before the age of recorded time. There have always been small sects on Calabria, but within the last decade it has spread to Bayman where it has flourished."

Stryfe dug through other scrolls. "I remember now that I had seen reference to a god of the underworld who was considered protector of all that was rejected during creation. Was it Camridaeus?"

"Well," commented Trynity, "at least the gods aren't perfect."

Duo snorted. "So the Calabrians have a god protecting losers? And there are people on Bayman worshipping such a god? What does that say about those dogs?"

Master Nazzar contemplated Stryfe in silence for a moment before saying, "Dagmaeus became lord of the underworld and all those that inhabit it," said Master Nazzar. "His minions are those that we might consider monsters and beasts."

"God of monsters! How did he get so lucky?" Duo laughed and Trynity was beginning to think his views on the gods mirrored her own. Then why did she hear him invoke them? Was it just a figure of speech?

"He was cursed by the high god Iator himself, for worshipping another above him. That would be his beloved Ulfyna." Master Nazzar turned to look at Shamara.

"Ulfyna!" she exclaimed. "I have heard that name only recently in my dreams!"

"You assuredly did not hear it on Calabria. Her name was struck from the sacred writings, as well as the names of Camrin and Dagmaeus."

"Who is Camrin?" asked Trynity when Shamara covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes widened. Did the mention of forbidden deities have the power to frighten the Calabrians?

Stryfe answered before Nazzar could speak. "My guess is that Camridaeus was known as Camrin before he was elevated to status of demi-god. Based on the addition of the letters…"

"Go on," urged Trynity before Stryfe rushed headlong in a grammatical lesson on the ancient language of Calabria.

"Indeed, the young man is correct. When Camrin was given the immortality of a god, his name was altered to reflect his new status. In his case, though, immortality was to be his curse because he was forced to spend it without the woman he loved."

"He loved Ulfyna very much," murmured Shamara dreamily.

"So who was this woman whose attraction was powerful enough to inspire blasphemy?" asked Duo with a raised brow. "I think I'd like to meet her."

Stryfe chuckled. "I think I have met her in a few of my dreams. There was one particular night…"

Trynity cleared her throat. "Please continue, master."

Nazzar wriggled his shaggy brows at the two men and Trynity wanted to kick them all. Even the old man had his mind in the gutter. He took a breath. "One day, Dagmaeus, most favored son of Iator, went on a hunt in the forest with his foster brother, Camrin. They spotted a rare silver wolf and chased the magnificent animal for days."

"I would have given up after a few hours," commented Duo.

"I'd rather read about hunts." remarked Stryfe.

Trynity didn't look at Duo's reaction to that statement.

Nazzar coughed in a sorry attempt to cover his chuckle. "As I was saying, they hunted the silver wolf for days and finally ran it down beneath an ancient, sacred tree. But before Dagmaeus could make the kill, a beautiful woman dropped from a tree and begged him to spare the animal's life."

Duo grunted. "I don't need to see the writing on the wall to know what happened next. Dagmaeus agreed if she would allow him to use his sword on her instead."

Stryfe laughed, then bit his lip when Trynity and Shamara frowned at him.

Master Nazzar also snickered.

"The stories don't change, only the names," remarked Duo. "I seem to recall a few Greek myths that are similar. Beautiful nymph plus powerful god – I think I know what the result is."

"I wasn't aware you paid attention in Mrs. Drivel's class," remarked Trynity with a raised brow.

"Babe, I got better grades than you."

"Hush!" snapped Shamara with a glare at him. "If you don't want to hear the story, then go polish your own sword."

Trynity smiled and looked away as Stryfe guffawed with laughter. The princess was obviously too innocent to understand the implication of what she had said.

Duo chuckled, then stood. "Not a bad suggestion, Shamara. You can fill me in with the details of this love and betrayal nonsense later."

Trynity watched him go. If she had any sense, she would go to bed. It had been an exhausting day and she suspected that tomorrow would be worse. There seemed to be an epidemic of debilitating lung infections, so she knew the sick would be camping out at the clinic doors in the morning. Yet she couldn't leave. Deep inside she had a romantic streak and wanted to hear the Calabrian tale.

"Go on," urged Shamara.

Master Nazzar continued. "The legend goes that both Dagmaeus and Camrin fell deeply in love with the female. She was called Ulfyna in honor of the wolf she protected. While Camrin's affections for Ulfyna were as deep as the feelings Dagmaeus had, Dagmaeus was the god of fire, earth and the winds. He laid prior claim to her."

"Did she have any say in the matter?" wondered Trynity aloud.

"In a way," answered Nazzar. "She ultimately made her choice. But at the time, she agreed to take the place of the silver wolf, so Dagmaeus returned her to the palace of his father where the mighty Iator ordered her to marry his besotted son. She agreed to do so in exchange for his eternal protection of the wolves she had left behind."

"I have never seen a wolf on Calabria," said Shamara. "Although I have read that they lived there, and I have seen drawings of them, I had not seen a real wolf until…until..."

"Your trances?" supplied Master Nazzar.

She nodded.

"I sense a dramatic twist," said Stryfe.

Master Nazzar nodded. "The wedding was celebrated with a great ceremony and much rejoicing because Dagmaeus was powerful among the gods. During the feast, Ulfyna left to prepare for her bridal bed."

"What happened next?" asked Shamara breathlessly when Nazzar paused to take a drink of water. She was leaning closer to the man from Bayman.

"When Dagmaeus finally left the feast to join in his beautiful bride, he found that she had already taken Camrin into her arms."

"I guess she made her choice loud and clear," said Stryfe.

"Oh!" Shamara was shocked and dismayed. 

Trynity was not. Forest nymphs were not usually known for their virtue. She was rather disappointed with the outcome of the story. Yet another romance tarnished by sex.

"What happened next?" asked Stryfe. "Did Dagmaeus kill Camrin and that is why he is cursed?"

"What became of Ulfyna?" demanded Shamara.

Master Nazzar held up his hand. "Hold your questions. I can only tell you what I know."

"You seem to know quite a bit about a forbidden tale," commented Trynity dryly.

"Hush!" Shamara turned on her now. "You are no better than Lord Duo!"

"This tale is quite predictable." But Trynity said no more. She decided to stay to hear the conclusion of the tale."

"The legend tells of Dagmaeus' anger, that he drove his sword through the heart of Ulfyna. She died in Camrin's arms."

"Oh!" sobbed Shamara. "Poor Camrin!"

"What did Dagmaeus do next? End his own life?" asked Trynity.

"No one knows what became of Dagmaeus. He fled the palace and was never seen again."

"I guess even the gods can feel guilty," commented Trynity. "He must have been very distraught."

Master Nazzar smiled at her. "I assure you that he was."

How could he assure her when Dagmaeus was never seen again? Trynity wondered what the old man wasn't saying.

"So Camrin began to worship the dead Ulfyna and the high god cast him into the underworld for his blasphemy." Stryfe sighed as he finished the story. "Such tragedy."

"Why was Elder Hardane frightened by what he read in the cave?" asked Shamara. "He was terrified!"

"What Elder Hardane read is a mystery to us that perhaps this young man might be able to solve." Master Nazzar rose. "I am sorry that I must retire to my bed. I am old and need my rest."

After he had gone, Stryfe said, "I don't think he told us everything."

"I agree," said Trynity as she also stood. "But I do not care. It is merely a myth." She noticed that Shamara was wiping tears from her eyes. Of course _she_ would be deeply affected by the sad tale of her gods.

Stryfe unrolled a scroll. "I'm going to give this a look and then talk to Quynn before I go to bed."

Trynity kissed his cheek. "Don't stay up too late trying to make sense of those scribbles."

As she made her way to the room she had moved into while the Calabrians occupied her own master suite, she noticed that Shamara had slipped outside and that Stryfe set aside his work to follow. Taeron was strangely in dereliction of his sworn duty.

Knowing that Duo was alone, Trynity decided to speak to him, and to tell him that she was now in full agreement about Malik Winner. She hated to admit that he had been right all along, but she hoped her admission might prove to Duo that she was a more responsible parent than he thought.

She raised her hand to knock on the door, but he called for her to enter before she could. Shrugging, she stepped inside. "How did you know I was there?"

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, the sword across his lap. For a moment she thought of Lars sitting in just that spot waiting for her to come to bed. And when she did, he would pulled her onto his lap and…

"I heard your approach. What do you want?"

She shook her head to clear her thoughts of Lars. Trynity didn't want to go to her lonely bed with those images on her mind. Seeing Duo was bad enough…

"Do you need something?" asked Duo impatiently.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"I didn't think you came here for any other reason." Duo set aside his sword. "Are you going to talk or shout at me?"

She shifted uneasily. "I…I wanted to say that I was wrong about Malik Winner."

Duo raised his brows and folded his arms over his chest. "This is interesting. Trynity Stryfe Nelson admits that she has made a mistake."

"I've made a lot of mistakes," she retorted, clenching her fists. "Not the least of which was getting involved with you!"

"You've recovered pretty damn well from that debacle." He stood. "Is that all you came to tell me? I knew you were wrong about Winner all along, and although I knew about all your other faults, I never told anyone else."

"You are impossible!"

Duo chuckled as he took a step closer to her. "And you are finding it too damn hard to be humble." He thought she was quite beautiful when she was angry. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes were dark, and as she stood before him rigidly making fists at her side, he wanted to find a way to soften her up despite herself. She was a prickly thistle again. Would he get the chance to see her blossom, or was it too? She hadn't fled yet, so Duo was encouraged. She was trying to think of some rejoinder that would thoroughly deflate his ego. Trynity didn't realize he had no ego where she was concerned.

She seemed to realize how foolish she might look although Duo thought she was rather adorable, because she relaxed her stance. "Stryfe gave me some information concerning Malik's relations with women that puts me in total agreement with you."

Duo reached out to touch her hair. He couldn't resist, and he was glad that she didn't step away. Trynity looked up at him, her eyes wide, her lips moist and parted. He thought of the day in the clinic when she had gotten carried away with her massage. Should he kiss her? She so clearly wanted it. What else did she want?

She swallowed nervously and swayed toward him. "I guess I should have a talk with Quynn."

"If you think she'll listen." He pushed his fingers further into her hair. He liked her tangled locks and was glad she had not cut it.

"You do realize that you can't come in and change things overnight?" she asked softly.

Duo smiled at her. "I can try." Trynity seemed rather pliable, so he reached out to undo the top button of her blouse.

She lifted a hand and he thought she might stop him, but instead she unbuttoned the second button. He didn't know which of them did the rest. Rational thought was starting to drain out of his head as she shrugged off her blouse. She kept her eyes on him as she reached behind to unhook the silly lacy pink bra she was wearing. A gift from Relena? Her brows drew together after a moment, and she started to yank on it. Duo realized she couldn't get it off, and before he could stop himself, he jerked the dagger from his belt.

Trynity gasped as he raised it. "What…what are you going to do with that?"

He slipped the blade beneath the flimsy lace that held the stubborn undergarment together at the front. This was a fantasy he hadn't had the imagination to have. Her chest was rising and falling so fast that he was surprised she didn't fall out of her lingerie. Duo was enjoying the sight so much that he waited before turning the blade to slice through the lace.

She moaned and fell toward him, and the dagger clattered to the floor.

But just as he brought her to him and was about to kiss her, the door flung open. "Lord Duo, Quynn is gone!" Stryfe was standing in the doorway clutching a note. When he saw what he had interrupted, his face turned several shades of red similar to those in his mother's hair, then spun around as Trynity scrambled to look for her blouse. Now where had that gone to?

"Mom, are you decent yet?" demanded Stryfe as he shifted anxiously.

Trynity looked on the bed, under the bed, and Duo enjoyed watching her until she shot him a glare and snatched the severed ends of her bra to hold together. "Where's my shirt?" she finally whispered furiously to him.

Duo shrugged. "I think you got rid of it."

Stryfe made a sound the conveyed both his impatience and his embarrassment.

Trynity found her blouse hanging over a lamp and quickly put it on.

"Do you need any help?" Duo could not resist asking.

She shot him a glare then had to turn her attention to the problem of her destroyed bra. Unfortunately she caught Duo watching, so she turned her back on him, pulled the shirt off and jerked off the bra before slipping the blouse back on. Duo turned back to Stryfe, not because he wasn't still interested in Trynity, but because he had a sudden attack of conscience. Their son was standing in the room and Duo was watching her like a randy goat.

"What did you say about Quynn?" Trynity asked before he could speak.

Although he was still embarrassed, Stryfe turned around and handed her the note. Trynity unfolded it, and then gasped. "She's gone to be with Malik!"

Stryfe turned to Duo. "You have to help!"

"Now suddenly you want my help?" Duo understood their fear. Although he didn't know exactly what Stryfe had revealed about Malik, he guessed it was something so obscene that they didn't want Quynn near him. Why hadn't Stryfe spoken up sooner? The boy's behavior was so moronically erratic that Duo was painfully reminded of himself.

"You have to go there and get her back now!" cried Trynity, grabbing his arm.

"That won't be necessary," he told them.

She dropped his arm and stepped away. "I heard you threaten him! Didn't you mean it? Or are you all talk?"

"I told you that it won't be necessary. Taeron will keep her safe."

"Taeron!?" She put her hands on her hips. Duo doubted they would be getting back to what Stryfe interrupted any time soon. "He is just a boy!"

"Older than I was when I stepped into the Deathscythe. Taeron knows his duty. He will not shame me."

"Who gives a damn about you and your honor?" demanded Trynity. "My daughter is in danger and you trust a boy to keep her safe from a blood-sucking pervert."

Blood-sucking pervert? What kind of upbringing did he get from Lars, Trynity, Quatre and Dorothy? He couldn't resist looking at the woman who claimed to know Malik so well, and she immediately went on the offensive again.

"Are you going to do something or not?"

"No." Duo reached out to her, but she slapped his hand away. "I cannot do anything, not while Taeron is protecting her. If I interfere, he will be shamed."

"Shamed? Do you think I care about his shame or yours?" She turned to Stryfe. "We are going there to get her now!"

Before she could reach the door, Duo grabbed her arm. "You are not going anywhere. Winner would like nothing more than to have you walk right into his lair."

He saw by the look in her eyes that he had hit home. But she jerked her arm away. "I will never forgive you if anything happens to my daughter."

"I must trust Taeron."

Trynity pushed past Stryfe and left the room.

Duo looked at Stryfe. "Can I trust you to keep your mother here?"

Stryfe shoved his hands in his pocket. "It's the least I can do. Are you afraid for Taeron?"

"Taeron is a Calabrian imperial guard." Duo sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I wouldn't be human if I didn't fear for him. But as I told your mother, I must trust him. You cannot possibly understand how much this means to him."

"I think I do," said Stryfe, putting a hand on his arm. "Taeron is proving his worthiness to be called your son." The hand dropped away, and Stryfe turned to leave. "I only wish I could somehow do the same."

Before Duo could respond, Stryfe walked out. Duo shut the door behind him and stared at it for a moment. He hadn't thought that Stryfe wanted anything to do with him. Well, he couldn't worry about that problem now. He bent down to retrieve his dagger, and smiled to himself as he thought of its most recent use. Too bad Stryfe had interrupted when he did and with the news he had. Then again, it was probably just as well. He wasn't certain of Trynity's feelings for him, and Duo didn't want to leave Mars Colony with another crack in his heart.

The door opened and Shamara walked in.

Duo didn't really have any privacy anyway. He tucked the dagger in his belt and picked up his sword.

"Are you going somewhere?" asked Shamara as he pushed open the window.

He swung a leg out the window. "If anyone asks, I was here all night."

Shamara came to the window after he was all the way out. "I won't tell Taeron you were watching out for him."

Duo waved to her as he hurried away from the house into the darkness of the night.


	17. Mayhem at the Winner Mansion

****

Mars Colony

Shamara was so distracted by her own thoughts that she didn't even hear Dagan approaching. He stood several feet away watching her as she sat on limb hanging over a pond, the eagle perched beside her. Dagan felt a twinge of guilt because the last thing he remembered before entering this trance was falling asleep with Oxana clinging to him like a vine. Shamara wasn't like Oxana. Shamara had a family that loved her and many loyal subjects that adored her. She could protect herself. Dagan freely admitted to himself that she could protect him better than he could himself. She didn't need him like Oxana did.

Shamara noticed him when the bird screeched beside her. The wolf barked in answer, and Shamara turned her head to look at him. "Oh, it's you." 

Dagan frowned. "Were you expecting someone else?" He thought about joining her on that limb, but he suspected it would break and he didn't wish to fight any monsters in the water.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Who are you?"

"I already told you." Dagan scratched his head. "They brought the body back and you don't believe me anymore."

Shamara still seemed skeptical. "How can I believe you when all evidence points in the other direction."

"The body was that of a guard my father sent to assure that I arrived at Calabria," Dagan explained. "His name was Kael."

"Like the wizard!" Shamara gasped. "You are the wizard! You are an evil man!"

Dagan had accused himself of the same. "The gods will decide my fate, princess. I do not enjoy what I do for these despicable humans."

Shamara's eyes met his, and he could feel her searching his mind. Dagan held nothing back from her. Finally she nodded. "You are not lying."

"I am not."

She sighed. "I am glad that you are not dead. When I did not see you for many days, I was afraid that what they told me was true."

Dagan felt something stir in his chest upon hearing the sad note in her voice. He did not know how to respond.

"When I saw you just now, I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or if this was a trance."

"I thought we had already established that these were trances." He held his breath as she scrambled across the branch, nearly slipping and falling in the water, but she quickly regained her balance and made it to the shore.

"I had a dream today and you were in it."

"I don't think it was a dream, princess, because we saw each other earlier today. You were rolling about in the grass almost naked."

"I was not!" Her cheeks became bright red. What had happened to that princess who tried to get his clothing off? Since she had come to the realization that these were not dreams, but trances, she had become quite modest. That was a desirable trait to have in a mate. And yet, he missed the saucy princess he had first met.

"You look troubled, princess," he said, noticing that she was chewing on her bottom lip.

She turned her big eyes to him. "What do you know of the cult of Camridaeus?"

"Camridaeus?" He shrugged. "The cult had been forbidden by my father before I was born, but there are those that continue to practice the religion." Dagan had heard that immoral behavior occurred when cult members gathered to worship. There were also rumors of very prominent officials on Bayman who were joining the cult. He raised a brow at her. "You are not one of them, are you?"

"Of course not!" She sat down on the grass, and he sighed as he sat beside her. "I must have been dreaming in my trance."

Dagan chuckled. "Dreaming in a trance? What a silly concept!"

She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on them as she stared out into the moonlit water. "I man calling himself Camrin came to me, and he called me Ulfyna."

Dagan cocked his head. "Perhaps I need to watch you more closely. This is the man that you claim kissed you? I know of no Camrin." Yet deep inside he felt an anxious stirring.

"Perhaps you have heard of his beloved Ulfyna."

_Ulfyna! Where are you, Ulfyna?_

Dagan shook his head, then glanced around. "Did you hear that?"

Shamara looked at him. "I heard nothing."

If the cry hadn't been so sorrowful, Dagan would shake it off. It had been a man's voice, wracked with grief so deep that Dagan felt a shiver run down his spine. "Who is Ulfyna?"

"According to your master, Nazzar, Ulfyna was the lover of Camrin, who later became lord of the underworld. Ulfyna was murdered by her husband, Dagmaeus, when he discovered her in bed with Camrin." Shamara sighed. "I feel such great pity for them."

"They are a myth," he pointed out. The story sounded familiar to Dagan, but he wasn't sure where he had heard it before. Since she had heard it from Master Nazzar, he must have told the tale to Dagan also.

"There is something else I should tell you." She took a breath. "When we were together earlier today, I…I saw another being come from within you."

Dagan stared at her for a moment, then threw back his head in laughter. "Princess, that is the most ridiculous…"

"Wait! Hear me out!" Shamara spun to face him, sitting cross-legged. "My mother told me that her father drew the essence of his dear wife and sister into him before she died. Is it possible…?"

"Do you actually believe that?" Dagan realized the Calabrians more superstitious than he had first thought.

Shamara sniffed. "You think the gods talk to you and that they send you on missions! What is so ridiculous about what I have said? My mother and father both bore witness to the fact."

"Well, I wouldn't want to slander the mighty Emperor Trey by calling him a liar. But he may have embellished the story a bit." Dagan still felt like chuckling. Drawing the essence of another? Everyone knew that the gods upon death collected one's essence. What manner of man or woman would defy the gods by doing such a thing?

"You still don't believe me!" accused Shamara, jumping to her feet.

Dagan smiled. "I am sorry, Shamara, but I cannot believe it."

She spun and walked away. Dagan watched her disappear into the night and regretted chasing her off. The eagle took flight and disappeared after her, but the wolf stayed beside Dagan. He absent-mindedly petted the animal as he continued to stare into the darkness. After several moments, he thought that he saw her returning as a cloaked figure was approaching.

The wolf began to snarl and growl, so Dagan rose to his feet and drew his sword. "Who is there?"

The wolf leapt at the stranger who now came to a stop, but there seemed to be a force field around him because the wolf bounced back and fell to the ground. Dagan stared at its unmoving body for a moment, then was relieved when it drew a breath and whimpered.

He swung to face the hooded figure. "Who are you? What have you done to my wolf?"

"Your wolf?" The voice told Dagan it was a man before he pushed back the hood to reveal golden hair. "Do you always claim things that do not and cannot belong to you?"

Dagan gripped his sword and raised it. "Who are you?"

A slow smile spread on his lips. "You know who I am. Perhaps you cannot remember after so many centuries have passed, but you would never have forgotten me."

Dagan wondered if this was the man Shamara had seen earlier. "Are…are you Camrin?"

The man laughed. "Good, you remember."

"I do not know you," insisted Dagan. The man's eyes were having a chilling effect on him. "Have you come to kill me?"

"You know that I cannot do that, Dagmar, until I have destroyed the sacred shield."

"I don't know what you are talking about!"

"How pathetic you have become!" The man threw back his head in laughter, then throwing out his cape he turned and disappeared. Almost immediately Dagan heard a screech from above. Turning quickly, he barely had enough time to raise his sword as a winged beast swooped down upon him.

Swiping the sword, it did not make contact, but the creature flew back up. Dagan tossed away the sword and raised his hands. He had developed them so well that immediately a ball of energy began to grow. The creature was diving toward him again, and Dagan readied to blast it but suddenly he was bumped. As he stumbled, he realized he was surrounded by white light, and he turned to see that Shamara was holding out her arms to protect them just as a blast of fire came not only from the creature before them, but also one behind that Dagan had been unaware of.

"I thought you had gone," he said over his shoulder as he put his back against hers.

"I couldn't leave you alone unprotected," she answered.

Dagan turned his attention to the dragon-like monster that he had not seen. He didn't waste any time blasting it with the energy he had already called forth, completely obliterating the beast and scattering its pieces throughout the sky. Dagan then sent another blast to the other dragon, but it dodged it and whipped its tail, slamming into both him and Shamara. He heard her cry out as she fell atop him. She was limp and unconscious.

The dragon landed on the ground and the earth shook as it trudged toward them. Dagan nudged Shamara but she didn't respond. He looked frantically around for his sword, but it was several feet away. Remembering that Shamara carried one, he hesitated, then began to search through her clothing. When he finally found it, he wondered how she managed to draw the damn thing in time to use it. The dragon opened its jaw, and Dagan jumped up to shove the long dagger into one of its eyes. The beast screamed in pain and threw back its head. Dagan raised his hands and called forth a pillar of fire that wound down towards earth, caught the dragon and whipped it into the air, whirling it around and around until the dragon was cinders.

Exhausted, he dropped to his knees, but he took a single calming breath before moving to Shamara. Her lashes were already fluttering open. "Did you…did you…" She turned her head to look around. Ashes were raining from the sky. Shamara shakily sat up. "You saved me!"

Dagan smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "I believe you saved me first."

"But…but you actually saved me!" Shamara through her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. Dagan tried to catch her to him, liking very much the feel of his lips against his, but she jumped up and away from him. "Do you realize what this means?"

He was afraid to ask what was going through her mind.

"We are even," she answered. "You no longer owe me your life."

Dagan should have been happy, but he was annoyed that Shamara seemed so pleased to release him from his promise to marry her. He didn't know if he had gotten used to the idea or whether having Oxana with him and finding the comparison between her and Shamara less favorable for his fair-haired lover had anything to do with this annoyance at Shamara's joy. "Princess, you realize that our fathers still intend for us to marry."

"I can talk mine out of it, I am sure," said Shamara. "Besides, you said you didn't want to marry me, and you told me that Avar of Teralon isn't too terrible a catch."

"You aren't serious! My father won't allow me to return to Bayman if I do not marry you." Dagan reached out to snatch her hand. "Listen, Shamara, we can probably get along quite well…"

She jerked her hand away, and he saw that there was hurt and confusion in her eyes. Dagan realized that she must have learned something from the touch of their hands. "I would rather marry a man with wings than to share my husband with another woman!"

"Shamara! You don't understand." Dagan wasn't sure if he understood.

She spit at him. "Go back to your bitch, you Bayman dog!"

He wanted to say something to soothe her hurt and anger, but Dagan didn't have a chance. She disappeared before his eyes, and he found himself looking at Oxana who was standing by the barred window, looking down at the courtyard with avid interest.

Dagan shook his head to clear it, then rolled from the bed to pull on his clothing. He hadn't even discussed with Shamara any plans for her departure from this human hell! 

Oxana sighed and turned away. Seeing that Dagan was awake, she hurried to him. "My lord, forgive me for leaving you alone!"

He almost shoved her hands from him. "I am hungry, Oxana." He also wanted to get out of this room. 

Dagan was starting to think that he had gotten too much of a good thing.

Oxana smiled at him. "Lord Quatre stopped by while you were asleep and asked that we join him at the table. There is a special guest. He said that we should be on our best behavior."

On his way down to the table, Dagan wondered who could be the special guest. And he was to be on _his_ best behavior? Dagan almost guffawed in laughter as he saw that the brigands had actually washed and were sitting quietly at the table. As they entered the dining hall, Magnar turned his greedy eyes on Oxana, and she shrank against Dagan, clutching his arm in fear. He didn't blame her. Unfortunately, the brutish man waved him toward him and Dagan had no choice but to stop to talk to him.

"Tomorrow we ride out. I hope you have had your fill because we aren't coming back here for a couple of weeks." Magnar licked his lips, as he looked Oxana over from top to bottom. "Do you even know what to do with such a woman?"

Oxana shrank behind Dagan, but he knew she was peeking at Magnar over his shoulder. She probably had never seen such a monstrosity in her life. "I will be ready."

They had no more time to talk because the doors swung open and Quatre walked in leading Malik. Smiling up at him as she walked beside him was a young woman Dagan recognized. The healer's daughter.

"Kael, good of you to join us." Quatre put his hand on the woman's back and brought her forward. "Did you have a chance to meet Quynn Nelson when you were at the lovely doctor's clinic?"

Dagan noticed that Quynn seemed uncomfortable with Winner's hand on her. "We were not introduced."

She held out her hand. "I am pleased to meet you."

Dagan took her hand, and he immediately read anger and rebellion churning inside her. Before Dagan had a chance to warn her, Quatre moved her away from him, turning instead to Oxana. "This is his beautiful woman. She arrived with the Calabrians."

Quynn raised her brows as she looked at Oxana. "I wasn't aware that there was another passenger on the Calabrian ship."

Oxana's stared at her with wide-eyed innocence. "I hid in Master Nazzar's trunk."

"At what point did you get out?" asked Quynn suspiciously.

Dagan glanced at Oxana. He hadn't considered the logistics of Oxana's arrival. Now he was trying to visualize her hiding in a trunk throughout a space voyage, even a short one, and…Did Master Nazzar own a trunk? 

Oxana was smiling at him. 

"Why don't we sit down to eat," suggested Malik as he took Quynn's arm and wound it around his own.

"Excellent idea!" She grinned at him. "I am so happy you let me stay here. I don't think I could spend another night under the same roof as that Calabrian oaf and my wishy-washy mother."

Quatre chuckled. "Your mother is quite indecisive."

They sat down at the table together and Dagan almost laughed to see that the humans actually could control their animal behavior. He choked when he saw Magnar use a napkin. Malik gave lavish attention to his guest, speaking in a low tone, making her laugh. Dagan wondered how long he could put on this act. At least she showed some good judgment by completely ignoring his father.

The meal might have continued in this civilized fashion had it not been interrupted by a new arrival. The door slammed open, and one of the brigands marched in dragging a young man, holding a knife to his throat.

"I caught this bastard sneaking around outside," he announced.

Quynn jumped up, and Dagan could see that she was both angry and concerned. "Taeron! What are you doing here?"

Dagan took a closer look at the young man. He was dressed as a Calabrian.

Quatre smiled with genuine pleasure. "Well, well, well. This is turning out to be a very pleasant evening. First the very lovely Miss Nelson shows up on my doorstep, and now I have Duo Maxwell's Calabrian bastard in my hands." He picked up his knife and ran his finger along the edge, licking his lips as he stared at the prisoner. "I think I'm going to have some fun."

Quynn spun to look at him. "What are you talking about? He can return to the clinic and tell my mother and that…that…jerk that I am safe here and to leave me alone." She smiled back at Malik, obviously expecting it to have some magical effect. Dagan thought she was woefully naïve. "I hope you don't mind me staying until my leave from service comes to an end and I have to return to L12."

Malik took her hand and kissed it. "I would be honored."

His father snorted. "As for the prisoner, tie him up in the basement. I'll deal with him later."

"No!" cried Quynn, grabbing his arm. "Please let him go! He is my half-brother, and I think he followed me here out of some misguided notion that he is doing me a favor."

Taeron raised his head, and Dagan saw that there was a large bruise on his cheek and one of his eyes was swelling. "I will take you back this night before you dishonor our house."

"You are just as ridiculous as your father!" she shouted at him in exasperation. Dagan could hear a note of apprehension in her voice.

"Our father," he corrected her.

Quatre chuckled. "Quite a moot point now. Take him to the basement."

"No!" Quynn tired to push away from the table, but Malik grabbed her elbow.

"I think you should settle down," he said to her, his voice low and ominous. Dagan hoped she knew him well enough to heed him.

But being a stubborn young woman, she jerked her arm from Malik. "I think I will accompany my brother back to the clinic. Thank you for the meal, but I guess I won't be needing your hospitality after all."

Malik struck her with the back of his hand so hard that she fell across the table. Dagan curled his hand around his dinner knife and he heard Oxana whimper in fear. The young Calabrian snarled which earned him a booted foot in his gut when he tried to wrestle free of his captor.

As Quynn pushed herself up from the table, Malik grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her up to him. Still stunned from his attack, she couldn't move as he slid his tongue across her neck where blood had spilled from a cut to her lip then covered her mouth with his.

"I am going to kill you," stated Taeron before being clubbed again.

Malik lifted his head and laughed, showing his bloody teeth. "In another life, bastard! Take him away." He turned to his father. "Will you be taking care of him?"

Quatre raised a glass of wine and contemplated the limp young woman in his arms. Dagan assumed she had fainted because Malik would have tossed her aside by now if he had already killed her. "I'll remind you to leave a little for me, son."

"Don't worry. She'll still have the parts that interest you," laughed Malik, tossing the healer's daughter over his shoulder and leaving the table. He was still laughing as he mounted the steps.

Quatre drained his glass and stood. "You will have to excuse me, Kael, but I have some business to attend to." 

Oxana was holding his arm. "What are they doing?"

"The meal is over," Dagan told her without answering her question. He was sure Oxana wouldn't understand anyway. The women serving the meal were already screeching as the brigands grabbed and fought over them. Dagan seized Oxana and pulled her out, running into Magnar who was blocking the doorway.

"Where are you going, wizard? You aren't taking her with you, are you? That would be quite selfish of you when you know that we share everything."

"Move out of the way," ordered Dagan as Oxana hid behind him, whimpering pitifully. Magnar would kill her if he got his filthy hands on her. She wasn't strong enough to survive the experience.

Magnar raised a brow, and they glared at each other for a long, agonizing moment. Dagan considered the very real possibility that he was going to end the night with a crushed skull. But he was saved when Quatre returned and signaled to the behemoth blocking the exit. The two men left together. Fortunately, no one else tried to stop them.

When they reached their room, Dagan was disgusted that Oxana seemed over eager to return to the bed. She immediately began to shed her clothing, and when she came to him, he couldn't even consider touching her when he knew what was likely happening to the innocent young daughter of the kind woman who had tried to help him. But Oxana was aggressive, so Dagan had to resort to drastic measures. He took her to the bed, drew her into his arms, but instead of kissing her as she wanted, he looked into her eyes and summoned his power. 

"You are too sleepy," he said softly.

Oxana yawned, and he noted that her limbs were becoming relaxed. "It has been a long day," she agreed drowsily. 

Within moments, she had closed her eyes, and when Dagan was satisfied that she would sleep deeply, he rapped on the door. The guard that opened the door did not have a chance to speak before Dagan looked into his eyes and said, "You will let me pass now."

The guard blinked, then said dazedly, "I will let you pass now."

Dagan continued to stare at him. "You will protect the woman with your life."

"I will protect the woman with my life."

Dagan moved past him and walked away, the hairs on the back of his neck rising, as he was sure the man was going to slay him. Master Nazzar had taught him how to mesmerize, but Dagan had never been very good at it. Of course, his only target had been Nazzar himself whose skills at blocking such magic made his failures predictable. He didn't have time now to consider how best to put that skill to use, but he did wonder if Shamara would be able to block it.

Now Dagan had to decide whom he was going to save first, but when he heard a woman's scream and whimper from the room at the end of the hall, he knew he must help the healer's daughter. Despite the assurances Malik had given his father, Dagan doubted the twisted young man would let up on his torture of her. 

He reached the door and was about to draw his sword, when he felt a blade against his throat. "Do not move or I will send your essence to the gods."

Dagan knew by the voice that the man was Calabrian. "How…how did you escape?"

"You speak my language." Taeron released him, and Dagan rubbed his neck. "Who are you?"

Dagan looked at him. "I am the one they call the wizard, Kael."

"You are lying." Dagan doubted Taeron could read his mind, but he knew a lie when he heard one. Dagan wasn't very good at that either. "Who are you really?"

"I am Dagan of Bayman."

Taeron stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "Prince Dagan, step aside so that I might rescue my disobedient sister. I will then rescue you."

"Rescue…" Dagan didn't have any time to tell the young man that he didn't need rescuing before Taeron shoved open the door which had been locked. 

The young woman had been stripped and tied to the bed, and Malik was lapping at one of the several cuts he had already made on her. She tried to wriggle away and was working at the cloth ties at her wrists so hard that her blood was soaking into the ties. Malik had shoved a cloth into her mouth to muffle her screams.

Intent on his vile task, Malik was slow to react, and Taeron was able to seize his hair and pull him off his sister with such strength that he was lifted from the floor. The Calabrian flung him across the room like a rag doll, and Winner slithered to the floor in a heap after slamming against the wall. Taeron used his dagger – Dagan wasn't surprised the humans hadn't found it, remembering the difficulty he had in finding Shamara's – to cut the bindings on Quynn, then pulled off his tunic and tossed it to her before spinning around and throwing up his blade to deflect a gunshot. 

"It is time for you to die, human," stated Taeron. "Prince Dagan, take my sister into the hall where you will both be safe."

Although Dagan didn't need him to keep him safe, he did know that Quynn was trembling, weeping and so weak she almost couldn't put on his tunic. Dagan lifted her and moved to the door.

"You're not going anywhere with her." Malik was aiming his gun at Dagan and Quynn. "I'm not finished."

Dagan heard a click as Taeron leapt into the air and flew between them and Winner. There was a clang as another bullet was flattened against the blade of his weapon. Now Malik tried to shoot him, but Taeron was too fast. The last thing Dagan saw before ducking out of the room was Winner pulling the trigger of an empty gun as Taeron walked slowly toward him.

The healer's daughter was sobbing on his shoulder and mumbling incoherently. Dagan glanced down the hall and saw that the guard he had mesmerized was still standing in his position paying no heed to what occurred only a dozen feet from him. After a moment, Taeron appeared again and Dagan noted that there was blood splattered over him.

"Come this way." 

They re-entered Winner's room, and Taeron stepped over the eviscerated corpse. He had died with a surprised look on his face, and remembering the speed at which Taeron had moved, Winner probably hadn't realized what was happening until it was too late. Now his blood and insides spilled onto the floor. Dagan hoped the gods of the underworld had some mercy on him because Taeron of Calabria had not.

Taeron jerked open the window casement. "Come this way. Soon they will be searching for me."

"Did you kill his father?"

"He left me with his underlings."

A mistake on his part, thought Dagan. He looked out the window, and gauging the height, remarked, "That is quite a ways to jump. I don't think…" Before he could finish the sentence, Taeron pulled Quynn from his arms, grabbed Dagan's shirt and threw him out the window. Dagan didn't have time to pray to the gods before he hit the ground. His back was in agony and he was sure he had broken something. Taeron landed on his feet beside him, Quynn in his arms.

Dagan was slow in getting up so Taeron grabbed his arm and started to drag him. "Who are you?" he asked when he finally regained his feet and was running with him. "Are you a god?"

"An imperial guard," he responded before increasing his speed in leaving behind the horror at the Winner mansion. Dagan thought about going back, but he doubted Imperial Guard Taeron would let him escape. The guard he had left outside his room would most likely continue to guard Oxana with his life, and if he lost that, well Dagan would shed no tears. 

They ran for what seemed to be hours before Taeron slowed by a stream and Dagan was glad that they were going to stop for a drink. Taeron cupped his hand and dipped it into the water, then brought it to his sister's lips. She drank, then burst into tears and hid her face against his shoulder. Dagan satisfied his own needs at the stream, and when he had finished he saw that Taeron was helping Quynn to stand.

"You can walk," he told her. "We are almost there."

"Thank you, Taeron." She burst into tears again and he put his arms around her. "I was such a fool!"

"You are just a female," he sighed, hugging her close.

"You are a jerk!" She drew back and started to walk on her own although her gait was uneasy.

Taeron nodded. "She is a worthy female for our house."

Dagan followed Taeron and when they reached the clinic, Quynn's family spilled out of the house as a tall man stepped from the shadows. Quynn went to her mother to sob in her arms, while Taeron walked to the other man who nodded to him. Taeron said something that Dagan didn't hear, then moved away to go to the house. The larger man came forward, and Dagan recognized him as the governor of the Calabrian second moon.

"You are Prince Dagan," stated Lord Duo. 

Dagan nodded. "I had been captured by Winner and forced to do his work."

The door to the house opened, and Dagan was overjoyed to see his teacher. "Master Nazzar!" He stumbled forward to hug the old man. "What are you doing here?"

The old man patted his cheek. "I have come to be assured of your safety. I have enjoyed my time here with this amazing young woman." He stepped aside and Dagan found himself face to face with the first princess of Calabria.

Their eyes met.

Dagan realized at that instant what a fool he had been. She was even more beautiful in this world than the other. Yet in her eyes, he still saw traces of the hurt and confusion that he had seen earlier in their trance. "Shamara." He reached out to touch her cheek.

She slapped his hand away. "So, you have finally decided to come here! Are you ready to be returned to your home?"

"Mom!" cried Quynn frantically. "Taeron killed Malik! They are going to come here when they discover his body."

"She's right," said Duo. "Now that we have Dagan, I think it's best that we leave immediately before Winner tries to cut off our route to the spaceport."

"The spaceport is under the control of the World Federation and the Cinq Kingdom," spoke up Stryfe. "He'll have a hell of a time convincing them to hold you here once you do get there."

Dagan was still feeling hurt from Shamara's rejection, but he looked at Lord Duo and added, "You should take the females. I have heard of Winner's plans for them, and no woman should suffer such a fate."

"Ridiculous!" Dr. Nelson looked at him with her hands on her hips. "We can take care of ourselves. He wouldn't dare…"

Quynn suddenly burst into tears again, and tearing herself away from her mother, she dashed to Lord Duo and fell against him. "You were right! You were so right!"

"You are coming with me," he announced, looking from her to the doctor. "We will sort this mess out on Calabria."

"You can take Quynn," she said, "but I cannot leave. There are too many people who depend on me."

"I'm staying with my mother," spoke up another young man.

"It's not safe for you either, Stryfe," stated Duo. "There is enough room on the transport for everyone."

"You'll have to tie me up to take me," declared the doctor.

"That suggestion has definite possibilities."

Taeron appeared from the darkness. "There are vehicles approaching."

"I know a shortcut to the spaceport," spoke up Quynn. "Mother, you have to come with us."

"I am staying."

"Shamara, get your things. Prince Dagan, you will come with us."

"I am not leaving either," he informed them. He looked at Shamara. "I can't go."

She glared at him for a moment, and then he saw tears glistening in her eyes, before she closed them and turned her head away. "Suit yourself! I wash my hands of you!" Then she disappeared again into the darkness before he saw her reappear into the light cast from the house where she had gone to gather her things.

"What do intend for me to tell your father?" asked Duo.

Dagan sighed and looked at him. "That I am dead. Shamara will not marry me now, and I am forbidden to return without her. I will stay here and see if I can earn any forgiveness from the gods."

Duo put his hand on his shoulder. "May the gods protect you."

"You protect the princess, and I will protect the healer."

The Calabrian lord nodded gratefully then turned to the stubborn woman. "You are being foolish by staying here."

"I have to stay."

"I understand," he conceded.

"You do?" She seemed surprised.

"No, not really, but I can see you aren't going to budge."

"My lord," called out Taeron. "We must go."

Lord Duo started to walk away, but he stopped, turned and followed his footsteps back to the doctor. He pulled her into his arms, and grasping a handful of her hair, drew her up to him. "May the gods protect you, Miss Stryfe." 

Then he kissed her until his son called for him more insistently. Releasing her, he hurried away, and she fell back, pressing her fingers to her lips as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"He will be back," predicted a voice from the darkness.

Dagan turned his head to see Master Nazzar watching her with a sad shaking of his head. "What are you still doing here?"

"I have a duty to you, my boy," he stated. "Now, I suggest you return from whence you came or you will be punished."

Seeing the prudence of his veiled order, Dagan hurried out of sight, then paused to watch. He had told Lord Duo that he would protect the healer, so he prepared to end the life of any that would harm her.

Quatre Winner and his men rolled into the yard on their motorbikes and made a turn around the small group that had remained before Quatre stopped in front of Trynity. She was still dazed and confused by Duo's kiss, and reeling with distress over the departure of her daughter. 

"Where is he?" demanded Quatre.

"If you are talking about Duo Maxwell, he has gone." She lifted her chin. "You are a little late."

"I see you have been shedding some tears." He reached up his leather-gloved hand to wipe them away although she flinched. "You will not miss him, my sweet. I can easily take his place in your bed."

She shoved his hand away. "You are a filthy pig!"

Quatre sighed. "My dear, if I were a filthy pig, I would have chained you in my basement long ago to do what I please to you when I please."

"Your son was an obscene freak! He could have killed Quynn."

"He wouldn't have killed Quynn. But we will never know because Duo Maxwell's Calabrian bastard murdered my son. Would you like to see what he did to him?"

"Oh please! I saw what Malik did to Quynn! He deserved whatever punishment Taeron deemed necessary."

"Where is Quynn? I would like to apologize to her personally, and if there is an unfortunate result from what my son did to her, I want her to know that I will give her anything she needs for my grandchild."

The sound of a craft making a run for the atmosphere over their heads drew her attention, and they both looked up to see the Calabrian ship shoot past. Trynity's heart ached as she watched the ship carry away her suffering daughter. 

She whipped back around to look at Quatre. "Quynn is on her way to Calabria. If there is an unfortunate result of your filthy son's rape, I will insist that she remain there with her father where you can never see the child."

Quatre sighed and glancing around, he paused a moment to look at Master Nazzar, then he turned and Trynity realized he was staring at the spot where Dagan had disappeared. She feared the young prince was waiting and might do something foolish to protect her, but Quatre shrugged and mounted his cycle. "Although I would really enjoy staying here to teach you a lesson, my dear Trynity, I must be going. There's a mess to clean up at the mansion thanks to that lunatic bastard."

"Your son was the lunatic and you knew it!" Trynity clenched her fists impotently at her side. Although Quatre intimidated her, she wanted to strike out at him.

He started the cycle. "I guess I am to blame for leaving him in Dorothy's care. After we were married, I discovered how demented she was, but I didn't know realize she would pervert her own child."

"You knew exactly what was going on!" accused Stryfe angrily. "You simply chose to ignore it."

Quatre shook his head sadly. "I am sorry, Trynity, for what happened. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you…"

"If I never see you again, it will be a beginning." Trynity watched him drive off with his men, then turned to Stryfe. He put his arms around her as she cried against his chest. She couldn't help but blame herself for what had happened to Quynn. "It's my fault! I should have known something was wrong."

"It's my fault," said Stryfe hoarsely, she felt his tears drip into her hair. "I should have said something sooner."

The old man from Bayman was chuckling as he put his hands on both their shoulders. "Neither of you is to blame. The gods directed what happened. Also, I think there was an obstinate young woman who wouldn't listen to the wise counsel of her father."

Trynity wanted to shout at the old man to butt out, but she realized that he was right, at least about Quynn's behavior. Quynn wouldn't have listened to her either, of that she was certain. She had a rebellious nature and a tendency to rush headlong into things. Up to now she hadn't been hurt. Trynity wished she could be with Quynn now, but she was safer where she was headed.

They returned to the house, but Trynity couldn't sleep. Her heart ached for Quynn, and knowing that Quynn must be suffering great humiliation made her own heart twist in agony. By the time the sun rose, Trynity gave up trying to rest and went to the clinic. As she predicted, there were many sick people waiting for her. By early afternoon, she was exhausted, but the patients began to thin and she discovered why through a conversation with one who told her that some were afraid to come to the clinic.

"Why do they fear my clinic?" she asked, although she could now use a nap. The sick would thrust themselves on her tomorrow anyway.

"The news has spread that Quatre Winner's son was murdered by the alien guest staying at your house."

"I had no control over his actions and Quatre Winner knows that. You can tell anyone that needs my care that it is safe to come here." 

After the last patient left, she was headed back to her house when a motorized cart appeared on the horizon speeding toward the clinic. It pulled to a stop just short of her.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

The man stepped out of the cart. "Is that any way to greet your father?"

She stood stone still as he hugged her. "I didn't have a gun handy for a proper greeting."

Ivan Stryfe chuckled and kissed her cheeks. "Still steaming over that last scolding? Well, I knew I had to come and apologize in person, so I took a sabbatical from the Academy."

"I don't suppose the opening of that wormhole had anything to do with it?"

He looked away as he scratched his head. "A pleasant coincidence."

"You haven't changed." She reached into the cart and pulled out his suitcase. "At least Stryfe will be glad to see you."

They walked to the house together. "I heard at the spaceport that I just missed the delegation from Calabria. So Duo Maxwell came back! And he was staying here with you?"

"Sleeping in my bed, in fact," she said with a smile.

He chuckled as he entered the house. "My dear, I don't think you would do anything improper with him."

"Are you a betting man, Gramps?" Stryfe came to hug his grandfather. "You should have let us know you were coming!"

"I love to surprise."

"He thinks he can catch me doing something improper," commented Trynity as she poured herself a drink and sat down in the armchair. She kicked off her shoes and wriggled her toes. "But he's always been blind as a bat."

"Hah! Don't think I didn't know you were rolling around on the beach every night like a couple of mating tortoises."

"Gramps!" Stryfe was shocked and Trynity turned her attention to her drink. "I don't think mating tortoises roll around in the sand." He chuckled with his grandfather.

"Well, if you knew what was going on, then why didn't you ever say anything?" demanded Trynity, annoyed. "No wonder I'm such a lousy parent. Look at my role model."

Her father accepted a drink that Stryfe made for him. He sat near Trynity and kicked off his own shoes. "I thought it was amusing that the two of you would come in covered with sand."

"Joke's on you, father. We had a hell of a good time in Duo's shower too, getting rid of all that sand." Trynity laughed.

He smiled. "Water didn't run cold a few times? I took the liberty of shutting down the hot water when you were in there."

She frowned. "I thought that everyone had used it up."

Stryfe laughed. "Hey, Gramps, you have any more stories I might never have heard?"

"Concerning Duo Maxwell? I think the well will never run dry." He noticed the scrolls. "So what do you have there?"

Stryfe picked up one of the rolled papers. "The Calabrians were in such a hurry to leave that they forgot them. I guess I have more time to look them over. My service for Cinq Kingdom Defense doesn't start for two weeks."

"If you could use a little help, I would enjoy a little mind exercise. Teaching can get very tedious."

Stryfe stood. "I'll go get something started to eat."

When he had gone, Dr. Stryfe set aside the scroll and looked at Trynity. "Is it true? Did he take Quynn back to Calabria with him?"

Despite herself, she felt the urge to cry again, and this time her father was there to hold her. "I failed her, father. I failed her!"

"There, there," he crooned as he stroked her back. "I'm sure she is fine."

"I think he raped her," she told him. "If he did, I'm glad Taeron killed him."

"Quynn's a strong girl, pumpkin."

"She didn't even argue about going with Duo!" Trynity realized that her feelings were hurt that Quynn chose him over her.

"You weren't expecting her to stay? If she hadn't gone with him, I'm sure she would have returned to L12 and thrown herself into her work. That would not have been any better for her than you when you spent so much time and energy studying that wormhole." Dr. Stryfe chuckled and took her shoulders to push her gently back so he could see her face. "Are you sure you aren't a little bothered that Duo Maxwell left through that wormhole again?"

She felt herself blushing, but she was angry by his suggestion. "My concern is for Quynn! She's been horribly violated and now she's forced to spend her recovery with a man she didn't even know was her father in a strange and rather primitive place."

"At least her father isn't strange and primitive."

"You don't know what he's become!"

"Anyone up for supper?" Stryfe stood in the doorway holding a pan. "There was just enough in the cupboards to throw together a good casserole."

Trynity left her father's embrace and went to the table. "Stryfe, I'm getting sick of your cooking."

"Better than getting sick _from_ yours," commented her father as he sat down. 

"Where is Master Nazzar?" asked Trynity, ignoring her father.

"He went to be with Prince Dagan," answered Stryfe. "He told me to send a message if I managed to figure out what was written in the cave."

"We'll get on it right away after we eat," said his grandfather.

As Trynity cleaned up after the meal, her son and father sat down together with the scrolls. The talked and argued over every minute stroke of ink into the early hours of the morning before they finally vowed to get back to it right away the next day. Although she was initially not pleased to see Ivan Stryfe arrive, Trynity was glad he was there. Despite his lousy parenting when she was a child and desperately needed him, he had become a very good friend in her adult life. Their only dissension laid in the fact that he did not want to relinquish the parental control he had started to exercise when it was too late to do anything but meddle when other parents stepped out of their children's lives.

She was on the verge of sleep when she felt a familiar, comforting touch in her hair. "Don't worry, pumpkin, I'm sure he'll come back. He loves you."

Trynity didn't turn her head to look at him. "You don't know him now, father. I don't think that's true anymore."

"Do you still love him?" her father asked softly.

"It's not the same," she whispered. "I had no faith in him. He has a right to hate me for it."

"Pumpkin, I think I'm right when I say that Duo Maxwell will always love you. Give him time. He'll be back. Besides, I'm sure he'll bring Quynn back when she has to return to L12."

Trynity was about to say that she couldn't imagine Quynn wanting to return, then thought better of it. Quynn was a strong-willed girl. She would probably recover quickly from Malik's attack.

When he left, Trynity slipped out of bed and looked out the window up to the stars in the sky. He was out there somewhere with their daughter.


	18. Shamara tries to do her duty

****

Imperial Palace, Calabria

This was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Not only had the last four of Apolo's daughters been joined in marriage to the eager young men from Teralon, but her father had also announced Shamara's betrothal to Avar, called The Loyal, by his people. Shamara felt miserable although she smiled through the banquet as she sat beside Avar. She noticed that her sister, Chaela, was pouting also. Shamara had heard that she argued with their father that day, but Shamara didn't know why. The emperor was planning to send a delegation to the human Cinq Kingdom to negotiate Chaela's marriage to their heir. Shamara hadn't had a chance to discuss it with her sister because Chaela always seemed to have a reason not to spend any private time with Shamara. Shamara was hurt that Chaela no longer wished to confide in her.

"In ten passings of the second sun, it will be our time to celebrate," the young man at her side whispered in her ear. "Are you as eager as I?"

Shamara turned to look at Avar. He was a handsome young man, with dark hair and blue eyes, and he was very polite and respectful. She had caught a glimpse of him practicing with his sword with her brother and Taeron, and he was very skilled. He was a man who could protect her, if need be. Her father seemed to think so. Duo didn't voice any objection he might have.

When she arrived back on Calabria, it was to be greeted by at least two dozen suitors who wished to make lasting connections to the Calabrian Empire. After spending what seemed to be hours in discussion with Duo and her mother, her father finally told her that he had already made arrangements for her to wed the heir of Teralon.

"He is strong enough to defend his suit," Trey explained to her.

Her father proved to be right when Avar promptly defeated three other men in duel to earn the honor of her hand.

Her mother had introduced her to Avar on her third day back from Mars Colony. Waiting in the garden with Chaela, when she arrived, Avar dropped to his knee before her, flattered her, and proclaimed his good fortune at gaining such a beautiful woman to be his wife. Although he made a favorable impression, Shamara examined him suspiciously, wondering about his feathers, but he didn't seem to have any. She learned later from Chaela that he had wings which would appear only when he willed them, and usually only in battle situations. Shamara hadn't seen them yet; Chaela had.

Now Shamara watched her sister pick at her food and ignore the pleasant young prince from Varoonya, a planet even more distant than Teralon. She wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings, and none of the food made it from the plate to her mouth. Chaela should learn to be less rebellious, thought Shamara. Their father knew what was right for them all. Shamara would never question his judgment or disobey him.

Beside her Avar had fallen quiet after his initial attempt at conversation. Shamara wasn't all that interested in talking of their marriage. It would happen when it was ordained, and she would make her father's house proud by being an obedient wife.

After the meal concluded, musicians began to play music, and Avar lead Shamara through a dance, joining the newly wedded women of Apolo's house and their new mates. Although Apolo was glad to see the last of his daughters married, Shamara sensed uneasiness in him also. She realized the source when she watched him closely and saw that he kept looking amongst the women attending and directing his covert attention to Larya, Taeron's mother. Larya was attending with Lord Duo as her escort. In the week that he had been back, Duo had made a public acceptance of Taeron as his son. He could often be heard bragging about his abilities. Larya, of course, couldn't be happier. Trey had already dropped several hints that there would soon be a merger of two governments as well as two houses. What did that mean for Apolo? He couldn't possibly single out one woman when many clamored for his attention! And certainly not the disreputable Larya.

Shamara couldn't believe that Duo would marry Larya, or vice versa! Larya enjoyed the fact that her son was acknowledged as the heir of the man closest to the emperor. She would not have been allowed in the palace in the presence of the emperor himself without Duo's sponsorship and promise that the mother of his son would cause no trouble. Larya made no secret of the fact that she had used Lord Duo in her rise to the governorship of the first moon. Duo didn't seem to mind. He had a son of which he could be very proud to show for it. As for Duo, Shamara knew he was and always would be in love with Trynity Nelson. In a few days he would be returning his daughter to L12 as she requested so that she could get back to work. Shamara felt certain that Duo would return to Mars Colony. Trey had already appointed Amyr to take over the government on the second moon in Duo's absence. Apparently he suspected Duo would be gone for more than a few days. Courtship of the stubborn human healer would probably take decades!

After dancing with Avar, Shamara noticed that Chaela had quickly slipped out of the palace through the garden doors. Shamara did not enjoy this celebration, so while Avar danced with one of her younger sisters, Shamara left the hall and followed Chaela. Chaela quickly put great distance between her and the hall so that the music was so faint that Shamara could barely heard it. Then Chaela collapsed to her knees and burst into tears.

Although she knew that Chaela had wanted privacy, Shamara did not want to see her suffer. She went to her and put her arm around her. Chaela immediately stiffened and shoved her away. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you leave, and I was concerned," Shamara told her gently.

"I don't need your help." Chaela wiped away her tears quickly.

Shamara decided that this might be the time for some sisterly advice. "If this is about the marriage papa is arranging with the humans, you should be respectful of his decision and abide by it."

Chaela glared at her. "I don't want to abide by it! I don't want to marry a man I do not know."

"Papa is a good judge of character," argued Shamara. "He knows these humans, has lived amongst them. You must do your duty, Chaela, as I do mine."

"I don't' want to be like you! I could never marry a man that I do not love."

"Love? Don't be silly! We do not have the luxury of falling in love." Yet as she said the words, Shamara felt a squeezing of her heart. Although she saw proof of love every day between her mother and father, and she easily read it in others, she realized that she was not sure how she would feel if she were in love.

"What is the matter, sister? Do you not have a response? Do you even understand?"

Shamara shrugged. "I believe that love is a rare gift from the gods. We do not all receive it, nor should we expect to."

"I have received it," Chaela told her. "There is one that I love, and now I must watch as he weds another."

"Chaela!"

Shamara spun around as Avar came upon them. His eyes were only for her sister. "I do not dare to hope that your feelings are for me," he said softly as he knelt before her.

Shamara thought about reminding him that they were engaged to be married, but instead she stepped back as Chaela reached a hand to him, and Avar pulled it to his lips to cover with kisses. Then they melted into each other's arms and shared a kiss that made Shamara turn away blushing.

"We can run away!" cried Chaela. "We can go somewhere my father will never find us!"

Shamara rolled her eyes. Her sister was far too romantic, and besides, she doubted Chaela and Avar would be able to clear orbit before they were hunted down. She turned around. "Chaela, this is madness. You cannot hope to succeed, and even if you did, you would bring great dishonor on our house."

"I don't care!" she cried angrily.

"I care," said Avar softly as he drew her close. "I could not bear to hear the names you would be called, my sweet. And I have a duty to my own people. Would you have me dishonor myself by breaking the vow I have taken to marry Shamara?"

"This is your fault!" accused Chaela, glaring at Shamara.

"I agree," said Avar before Shamara could say anything. "I was certain you would return from the human system with Dagan! I would not have opened my heart to Chaela had I thought differently. Now she is locked inside and I must marry you."

Shamara opened her mouth to speak, but Chaela interrupted. "I overheard Lord Duo tell our father that Dagan is still alive, that you rejected him! How could you do such a thing?"

"Dagan is alive?" Avar's expression brightened. "Then we have a solution to this problem."

"Stop!" cried Shamara before they could continue planning how to get her out of the way. She hoped they would stop short of murder. "I do not wish to marry Dagan."

"But you must!" cried Chaela.

"I will not marry him. He wants another woman."

"What??" Chaela would have thrown herself at Shamara with fists raised if Avar hadn't grabbed her arm. "You selfish, spoiled brat! Because your feelings are hurt, you will doom both Avar and me?"

Shamara sighed in exasperation when she realized both were glaring at her. "You don't understand."

"I understand!" Chaela shook off Avar's hands. "You have never been denied anything so you don't know how to fight for what you want! You want Dagan, but you are too much of a coward to get him! Are you afraid he might not want you, that this other woman is more important to him? Use some of your magic to make him forget her!"

"Chaela! I could never do such a thing!"

"Then use your woman's wiles," suggested Avar. "You are quite a beautiful woman, and…" he fell silent when Chaela turned to look at him. Shamara might have laughed if she didn't feel such turmoil inside.

"I'm begging you!" cried Chaela, throwing herself against Shamara. "If you love me at all and want to see me happy, you will go back and return with Dagan."

"There is still the vow to consider," Shamara reminded them. "Avar and I pledged an oath to wed. I do not wish to dishonor my house."

"You were offered to Dagan first," said Avar. "When he returns to Calabria, he should challenge me for the right to wed you."

"He would never do that!" Shamara could not even imagine it. "Besides, he is so pathetic as a swordsman that he will not be able to parry the lightest of your blows."

Chaela smiled as she ran her hand up and down Avar's arm. "He is quite amazing!"

Shamara frowned and looked her in the eye. "Perhaps I should ask if you are yet pure?"

Avar looked away as Chaela shrugged. "It is no use lying to you. I love Avar; he loves me."

Shamara was shocked. "And yet you made a vow to marry me!" Avar didn't have the good grace to be ashamed. "You are a loathsome man!"

"He wasn't going to marry you!" cried Chaela in his defense.

"I beg your forgiveness, princess!" Avar started to drop to his knee, but Chaela slapped his arm, stopping him.

"Don't apologize to her! She's the cause of this mess. We could have been celebrating our marriage today if she hadn't abandoned Prince Dagan on Mars Colony!"

Shamara stamped her foot angrily. "All right! I will speak to father tomorrow!" She glared at Avar. "I have no intention of ever marrying you, so when Dagan challenges you – if I can get him to do so – you will humiliate yourself in your defeat. Do I make myself clear?"

Avar nodded.

Chaela frowned. "I don't want my husband to be the laughing stock of the galaxy!"

"Too bad!" She spun and walked away, but Chaela hurried to catch her.

"Sister, I beg you do not tell mother and father about Avar and me."

Shamara glared at her. "If he truly loved you, he would not have taken advantage of you, Chaela."

Chaela smiled slyly. "How do you know I did not take advantage of him?"

On her way back to the palace and the festivities, Shamara was surprised to spy Apolo meeting with Larya in the shadows. She was about to hail her uncle to ask for his advice when the two came together and disappeared into the darkness. Is that all anyone ever thought of?

The following day, Shamara tried to see her father, but he was busy most of the day, so she decided to start with her mother, but she was engrossed in planning her wedding celebration. Late in the afternoon, Chaela caught up to her and asked her what their father had said to her request. When she learned that Shamara hadn't spoken to him yet, Chaela became very upset and hurried away to meet with Avar – in secret no doubt. The following two days yielded the same results; Shamara had been unable to have a moment alone with her father. She had even tried to schedule time to meet with him, but he had no openings until well after her wedding.

Frustrated, Shamara had no choice but to interrupt his private moments with her mother. Long after everyone else had gone to bed on the fourth night, she went to her parents' private chamber. The guards in the corridor seemed surprised to see her. She hadn't seen them for many years, so long had it been since they days when she would sneak into their room to sleep because she was afraid of the monsters in the dark.

After knocking at the door, she waited a moment, then knocked again. She heard a muffled curse followed by a few seconds before the door was jerked open. Her father was wearing a loose robe, and although she felt a cool breeze from the open windows, he was sweaty and flushed.

"Papa, are you sick?" That might explain why she couldn't get a moment alone with him. Out of reflex, she reached out to lay a healing hand on him, but he stepped out of her reach and she heard her mother giggling. 

"What do you want of us in the middle of the night, Shamara? I thought you had left all the monsters on Mars Colony." He seemed out of breath.

She stared at him. "Are you sure that you are well?"

Trey looked over his shoulder at his wife, and Shamara realized her mother had drawn a sheet up to cover herself. "You need to have a long talk with your daughter."

Shamara felt her face flushing with embarrassment. "I…I am sorry to disturb you." She turned toward the door. Now she wanted to put as much distance as she could between her and her parents

He grabbed her arm. "It's too late to worry about interrupting now. Whatever is on your mind must be important."

Shamara couldn't bring herself to look at him. She clasped her hands in front of her and stared at them as she spoke. "I…I think I have made a mistake in leaving Prince Dagan on Mars Colony."

"I can send some men to bring him back. Is that all?" He opened the door. "Good night, Shamara, may the gods bring you happy…"

"I…I…I wish to marry him instead of Avar," she blurted.

"What?" he thundered, slamming the door shut. He grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her. "We have made all manner of preparations! You vowed to marry him before his esteemed father! How can you insult Avar so? What has he done to you?"

Mated with my sister, she wanted to say, but instead she said, "I…I should not have treated Dagan with such disrespect! I must make amends."

Trey shook his head. "You will have to have a better reason than that!"

Shamara wasn't sure what she could say without compromising Chaela and Avar. 

"I see that you don't have a reason. Then you will have to settle with marrying Avar on schedule." He opened the door. "Good night, Shamara. As I said, may the gods grant you pleasant dreams."

When the door closed behind her, Shamara stood in the hall and she thought she heard both of her parents burst into laughter. She hurried away before she heard anything more.

The following day when she told her sister the result of her visit, Chaela shrieked in frustration. "You fool! Couldn't you come up with any reason?"

"I'm sorry, Chaela." Shamara sniffed. "You shouldn't have become involved with a man not your mate."

Chaela ran away in tears. Shamara wished she could do something to help her, but she had already tried. She went in search of Avar and found her brother and Taeron lounging in the practice yard discussing some subject they judged unfit for her ears because they stopped when she arrived.

"If you are looking for your betrothed, he has disappeared," said Amyr. "You will have to keep him on a short leash."

Could no man be steadfast and loyal, wondered Shamara. Her brother and Taeron probably knew about his relationship with Chaela and chose not to say anything. 

"I am going to the second moon tomorrow," said Amyr conversationally. "Lord Duo is leaving through the wormhole again."

Had Shamara been able to convince her father, or even made an honest attempt, she might be accompanying him. 

"I would like to visit my father at his home," commented Taeron, "and to see my sister before she must return." He paused for a moment, then added, "but I must remain at your side."

Shamara looked at him and their eyes met. At that moment she wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him, but she feared someone might think it improper. She hurried away to find Avar and Chaela. They were sitting together in a secluded alcove in the garden.

"I have an idea! I will accompany Amyr to the moon so that Taeron might bid his sister goodbye, and when I get there, I will persuade Lord Duo to take me back with him!" Shamara was quite proud of her plan.

"Papa will never agree!" snapped Chaela. "He's not a fool!"

But that night Trey surprised everyone by asking Avar if Shamara could be allowed to bid her human friend good-bye. Shamara credited her amazing skill at manipulating her father with just the right look in her eyes when she asked him – on Taeron's behalf of course. Chaela was skeptical. Now that they had leapt that hurdle, there was one left. Shamara was sure Duo wouldn't mind taking her back through the wormhole.

"My lord, there is a message from the imperial palace."

Duo was standing at his window looking down at the garden where Quynn was sitting with Apolo. He could hear her laughing at something he said and was glad that Apolo had accompanied him back to this moon after the celebration. Apolo's excuse was that he didn't want to return to his own empty palace just yet. After many years of young women chattering and giggling, it was just too quiet for him. Duo knew the real reason; he was hoping that Larya was going to stay over at Duo's palace. Apolo wasn't able to hide his disappointment that Larya returned to her own on the first moon. But when he met Quynn, he immediately forgot his original purpose for visiting and set about healing his hurt and disillusioned daughter.

Sighing, Duo walked to his desk and pressed a button. Immediately Trey appeared in the room. Duo didn't like these hologram communicators, and Trey knew it, but he insisted on using the holograms to communicate.

"You don't mind if I sit, do you?" asked Trey with a smile.

Seeing a ghost of his friend in the room gave Duo the creeps. "Just don't do it in thin air."

Trey laughed. "I'll make this short. Shamara is on her way. I believe she will try to charm her way onto your ship to L12."

"Thanks for the warning. I'll tell her she is absolutely not…"

"Take her with you."

"What?" Duo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Shamara is going to be married in a few days! Do you want me to bring her back immediately?" He scratched his head. "I had other plans."

"You weren't going to skip Shamara's wedding, were you?" scolded Trey gently.

"No, but I was hoping to persuade a certain guest to attend with me, and I would have some difficulty properly courting that orange-haired porcupine with Shamara riding on my coattails."

"Take your time."

"What about her wedding to Avar?" Duo was becoming confused.

"Won't happen," said Trey. "Avar's been sneaking around with Chaela. Arora told me yesterday that she discovered that Chaela is pregnant."

"By the gods!" Duo was shocked. Sweet, young Chaela was going to become a mother? Duo remembered bouncing her on his knee! "What are you going to do?"

"Chaela doesn't know yet, so we will just let events unfold as the gods will. As for Shamara, she is playing her part. She is going to beg you to take her, and I think you should refuse at first, then let her think she is a successful manipulator."

"Trey, can't I just tell her she can come with me without having to look at that puppydog expression in her eyes?" Shamara was really quite bad at getting people to do what she wanted, but no one had the heart to refuse her.

Trey laughed. "I thought you might be amused."

"What about Dagan? He isn't going to be pleased to see her again."

"Really? I had hoped he was in love with my daughter by now."

Duo chuckled. "I don't know what goes on during their trances, but she is thoroughly disgusted with him. As for him, I think the fact that he would rather be considered dead than to return to marry Shamara speaks a lot for his feelings."

"At least Shamara is not so disgusted that she won't go back. I think she has feelings for him, but they confuse her. She needs to spend more time with him."

"Might I remind you, Trey, where he is? He is a prisoner, and the planet is a nest of man-eating beasts that you could not even imagine in your wildest nightmares. Did I not tell you what happened to Shamara? Did you forget that Hardane was consumed in a single bite?" Duo shook his head. "I hope you know what you are doing."

"We must trust the will of the gods." He waved to Duo before disappearing as the communication came to an end.

Duo could hear Quynn and Apolo in the garden yet, so Duo set aside his work and went out to join them. Quynn was smiling as he approached. "Lord Duo, Lord Apolo was just telling me how my mother saved his life."

Duo didn't really care to be reminded of those days. He had been particularly hard-hearted toward Trynity when they were in Apolo's camp, in no small part because he had been jealous of the time she spent nursing Apolo to health after a near-mortal wound. As he thought about that time, he remembered seeing Shamara in her arms many times and he knew now that she was trying to adjust to the idea that she was going to be a mother. He had ridiculed her efforts.

"Why the glum look, my lord?" teased Quynn. "Lord Apolo told me he had been tempted to win my mother's heart from you. Do you remember?"

"I think we should stop before he draws his sword," laughed Apolo. "I am not the imperial guard I used to be."

"Years spent catering to females have made you weak," said Duo. He looked at Quynn. "Why don't you cut some flowers for the hall? We will be receiving guests soon."

She raised her brows. "Who do you think you are talking to? Me, pick flowers?"

Apolo smiled and reached out to caress her cheek. "You like the pink and white flowers we were looking at earlier."

She smiled back at him. "I do. I think I will go cut some for the hall."

Duo watched her walk away humming to herself. "I wish I had that kind of magic. Now I know how you controlled all those young women."

Apolo chuckled. "She wanted to do it, but she thought you might consider it a weak female activity."

"I am glad that you came to heal her," Duo told him, putting his hand on his shoulder. "She has been so miserable these past days."

"I healed her physical wounds and for now she does not remember exactly what happened with that monster." Apolo curled his fingers into a fist. "No woman should have to suffer what he had intended for her." He then put his hand over Duo's. "Rest easy, my friend. He was not able to dishonor her and your house before Taeron rescued her. She is still pure."

Duo's brows shot up. "She is pure? By the gods, by her behavior and dress, I thought…" He didn't finish the sentence. Duo was ashamed that he had such a low opinion of his own daughter.

"So you are returning through the wormhole," remarked Apolo. "Will you be bringing Quynn's mother back with you?"

"You are free to court Larya," said Duo with a chuckle. "I won't stand in your way. Taeron is the only link between us."

Apolo looked surprised. "I have no interest in that female! She is an ambitious whore. I still have not forgotten how she made a fool of me many years ago."

"I'm glad you are not interested in her because she utterly despises you." Duo was amused to see Apolo frown. "Besides, Larya isn't the type of woman who would put up with your need to please all females."

Apolo nodded. "Indeed. I cannot waste myself on one rotting apple when there are so many delicious fruits to be tasted."

Duo bit his lip to keep from laughing. Apolo was hooked and he didn't realize it. Arora had taken him aside and asked him what had happened on the moon before his departure because Apolo had suddenly lost interest in the woman clamoring for his attention. Duo wondered if she had used the chains. Perhaps he liked Larya's style.

"My lord," spoke up Duo's personal servant, "the crown prince has arrived with his entourage."

"Encourage?" Apolo raised a brow. "I didn't know Amyr traveled with a group."

"His entourage is Shamara and Taeron. Shamara is returning with me."

"I thought she might. She cannot stay away from Dagan."

Duo looked at him. "Do you think she is in love with him?"

"Only she knows that." Apolo rose and went to greet his nephew, then kissed Shamara's cheeks as they entered the garden. He also hugged Taeron because he was now considered part of the imperial family.

Duo went straight to Shamara. "What are you doing here?"

Her cheeks turned pink, so he knew she was going to lie. "Taeron wished to bid his sister a safe journey, and because he is my guard, I came along."

Duo wanted to laugh, but he managed to keep a straight face. "You will have to amuse yourself because I have preparations to make for the journey. I intend to visit Mars Colony before returning."

Shamara curled her arm around his. "Let's take a walk in the garden. There is something I want to discuss with you."

At that moment, Quynn returned carrying an armful of pink and white flowers. "Is this enough, Lord Duo?"

Amyr frowned at her. "Just take them inside! Can't you see that Lord Duo is too busy to be bothered with such inconsequential details?"

Duo realized that Amyr thought she was a servant. Before he could correct him and introduce his daughter, Quynn flung the flowers in his face.

"Who the hell are you?"

The crowned prince stood with a shocked expression on his face. Then he exploded. "By the gods, Lord Duo, who is this brazen wench? I think she should be beaten for her insolence!"

"Who's going to do it?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "You?"

Duo looked to Amyr for a response. Amyr was speechless. This would be a good time to intervene. He opened his mouth so speak.

"I don't think you have what it takes," continued Quynn as she walked around Amyr, looking him over in a way no Calabrian ever would. In fact, all Calabrian women would on their knees before him with their heads bowed. They certainly would never speak to him, let alone insult him.

"My lord!" sputtered Amyr, looking at Duo. "Do I have your permission to punish this impudent woman?"

Before Quynn could retort, Duo put his arm around her shoulders. "This is my daughter, Quynn."

"Your daughter!" Amyr was amazed, then his face turned a shade darker. "My lord, forgive the insult to your house!"

Duo chuckled. "I fear Quynn brought it on. If anyone owes me an apology, it would be my daughter. Quynn, this is Amyr, crown prince of Calabria."

"Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Shamara tugged on Duo's tunic, so he reluctantly turned his amused attention from Amyr who had lost the power to speak again. Trey's son had never met a woman like Quynn. Duo knew how he felt. Miss Trynity Stryfe had thrown him for a loop when he met her. 

"Now that introductions have been made," said Shamara, "I believe you offered to take me for a walk in the garden."

He hadn't, but then nothing was going to stand in her way. "I had forgotten. Quynn, you may show them to their rooms."

"Great! Now I am lady of the castle and I don't even know where my own damn room is without asking a servant," muttered Quynn as she headed to the door to the inside. Without pausing, she tossed over her shoulder, "Keep up, because I'm not stopping for you."

"Your sister deserves a whipping over the backside," Duo heard Amyr tell Taeron.

"I know, but I don't think anyone can do it," he responded.

"Damn right!" Duo heard Quynn call back to them. "Now let's go."

"You're going the wrong direction," pointed out Amyr. "I have often stayed here and my room is…"

"Who's leading this parade? You or me?" snapped Quynn.

Apolo sighed. "I think I had best join them or she will filet Amyr. He's not used to women who speak their minds."

"No," agreed Shamara, "he is only used to woman who lay out before him."

Duo raised a brow. He doubted Shamara knew exactly what she was talking about since she could not phrase it correctly. Apolo was laughing about that fact as he disappeared into the palace. 

Shamara grabbed Duo's arm and forced him down onto the bench before the fountain. "I have a favor to ask you."

"I thought we were going for a walk," he remarked wryly.

She batted her long lashes at him. "We can dispense with the walk. My feet hurt anyway from standing around accepting all the well-wishes for my upcoming marriage."

"Avar seemed to be a gentle and loving young man," said Duo. He almost laughed at the sour look on Shamara's face. Shamara was obviously aware of what was going on with Chaela.

"I suppose he is. I wouldn't know." She took a deep breath, and her eyes seemed to become limpid pools of despair. "Duo, I want to go with you when you return to Mars Colony."

Duo shook his head. "I can't take you with me, Shamara."

She sighed tragically and her lashes glistened with the tears she was trying to force out. Poor Shamara, she was so innocent and sweet that she had a hard time acting. "I…I must return. I have horribly wronged Prince Dagan." She clasped her hands to her heart. "I must help him!"

Duo thought about drawing this ridiculous scene out further, but he didn't want Shamara to be begging him on her knees. "Very well, Shamara, I will take you with me. But I will have to tell Trey."

"Oh no!" she cried, jumping to her feet. "You cannot tell my father! He has forbidden me from returning to Mars Colony."

"I do not feel right about spiriting you away. I should inform him somehow…"

"I have that covered. I have written a note explaining to him my plans. A trusted servant will deliver it to him once I have left." Shamara smiled at her own cleverness. Duo was glad she had given her father's feelings some consideration. Shamara was a dutiful daughter, despite her plotting. Of course, she didn't realize that Trey was manipulating her, but that made her all the more adorable.

She kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Duo. Now I have to prepare for the journey."

Duo shook his head. He had a bad feeling about this trip.


	19. Another visit to the cave

****

Mars Colony

Dagan tossed a knapsack on the ground before Master Nazzar, then sat down with a long sigh. Dagan didn't have much of an appetite now, even after ten days away from the Winner residence. He had caught a few birds and roasted them during the time that he traveled with the brigands, and managed to find a few wild chicken eggs. Dagan had been looking forward to a good meal and for Oxana's company upon their return, but even before he reached the mansion, Dagan realized he wasn't all that eager to see Oxana. So he filled his belly at the table first, afterwards he still didn't feel like spending time with Oxana. Asking one of the men to deliver a message of regret that he would see her the following day when he was rested, Dagan started to leave to check on the clinic and the doctor. But then he realized he was being inconsiderate in not speaking to Oxana himself, so he returned. She had likely been locked in that room the entire time he was gone and was starving for some company. 

When he approached their room, he noticed that the guard was gone, so Dagan concluded that she must have given Winner some type of promise to stay. Where could she go anyway? Oxana would not cause trouble. But when he was standing before the door, he discovered the real reason for her freedom. He heard a man grunting and groaning, and pushing open the door, Dagan saw Magnar stretched out on the bed his limbs entangled with Oxana's. Dagan might have rushed in to save Oxana from his obscene attentions if she hadn't been controlling the whole activity with a great deal of enthusiasm. So Dagan quietly closed the door and walked away with a surprising feeling of relief. Dagan didn't feel any anger, only disillusionment.

"You are troubled," remarked Nazzar as he opened the knapsack and withdrew a roasted chicken leg. 

Dagan sat with his back against a tree. "You can read my mind so you know the reason."

Nazzar chuckled with his mouth full. "Your eyes are open now."

Dagan frowned. "How long have you known about her?"

The old man shrugged. "The moment you brought her to my home."

"Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Dagan angrily. "I made a fool of myself!"

He reached into the bag for more food.

"I brought that for me for later," Dagan told him with annoyance. "I don't want to go back there."

"You weren't planning to feed your esteemed master?" Nazzar's white brows were raised.

"I believe you have been feasting on beetles and worms. I thought maybe the Calabrians had turned your appetite away from more traditional Bayman fare."

Master Nazzar snorted. "You would do well to learn to eat what is available as the Calabrians have. Then I wouldn't have to listen to your stomach growl as much at night. As for Oxana, she came into your life under false pretenses, but I chose to let you discover that on your own. The man that she claimed was her father, was actually her procurer. She sold her body to the men he brought to their home and they shared the profit. I suspect she got greedy, or upon meeting you she realized you were the goose who would lay the golden egg for her. Causing her 'father's' death was quite easy for a woman of her ambition. "

"You could have warned me!" insisted Dagan resentfully. He was disgusted with himself for having been so thoroughly fooled. 

"There are some lessons you need to learn on your own."

"The only lesson I have learned is that I am a ignoramus where women are concerned." Dagan closed his eyes. He had misjudged Oxana and placed a higher value her than Shamara. What kind of an idiot was he?

"A very great one," snickered Nazzar.

Dagan snatched the bag of food from him. "Go look under a rock for your food, you old goat. I am not sharing with you."

Master Nazzar sighed. "Hard to believe that you used to revere me!"

"That was before I realized you were laughing at me for sleeping with a whore!"

Nazzar shrugged. "I thought her extensive experience might be helpful to you in the future."

Disgusted, Dagan pushed himself up and walked away. He was ashamed of his own stupidity. Oxana had even tricked him into believing she had never been with a man before! All the while she must have been laughing at his foolishness. He wondered now what she would do if he never went back to her. A woman like Oxana would probably find another protector. He did not doubt that she spent his absence enjoying the full hospitality of Quatre Winner. That would explain why she had not been harmed. 

"It's dangerous to be walking alone in the forest."

Dagan looked up to see Shamara sitting on a branch swinging her legs like a little girl on a swing. "What are you doing back here? Are you really here?" He looked around, trying to determine if this was a trance or not.

"I am not here. I am on a transport leaving L12 Colony about several hours from Mars Colony."

"If you are with Lord Duo, then you must insist that he turn the transport back toward Calabria. This place is unsafe." Dagan could see by the stubborn set to her features that she wasn't about to comply. He sighed with exasperation. "You are like a disobedient dog who will not return home!"

She hopped out of the tree and landed gracefully in front of him. "I cannot go back. I have returned to take you back to Calabria with me so that we may be married."

"Married?! I thought we had decided not to go through with it." Yet as Dagan looked down on the young woman before him, he realized that being married to her might not be all that unpleasant.

"I don't want to marry you any more than you want to marry me," she declared, "but for my sister's sake, I will do so."

If Dagan had much ego left it might have deflated to hear the beautiful young princess' statement. "What has this got to do with your sister?"

"She is in love with Avar of Teralon. In fact, I didn't have the heart to tell her that she is already carrying his child. She is a silly girl!"

Dagan wondered how any female could be sillier than the one standing before him. "What does her foolishness have to do with me?"

"Avar is in love with her," Shamara told him as if that was going to answer his question.

Dagan shrugged. "Avar falls in love with many women. I still don't understand why I have to become involved in his love-life."

Shamara blew out her breath in exasperation. "Aren't you listening? My sister and Avar must marry. I really don't trust him, but once he marries into the imperial family of Calabria, he would not dare dishonor her because that would bring dishonor to my father's house."

Dagan was acquainted with Avar because Bayman had long-standing trading contacts with Teralon. Not until Trey became emperor and used the knowledge he had gotten from the humans were the Calabrians able to contact other worlds. He didn't think Avar would risk insulting Emperor Trey. "If Avar truly loves your sister, then he will not dishonor his vow. He is honorable."

"That is the problem!"

"That he is honorable?" Dagan wanted to shake the rest of the story from her. "Am I missing something?"

She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in so that they were eye to eye. "Listen carefully, Prince Dagan. You must return with me to Calabria and make a prior claim to my hand in marriage."

Dagan had no objection. She was standing so close that he could feel the heat of her body and smell her scent. "Lead the way, princess." He circled her tiny waist with his hands and drew her against him. "I am ready and willing."

She twisted from his grasp. "You will have to fight Avar."

Dagan stopped admiring her lovely body and looked at her face. She appeared to be determined. "You had better explain to me why you need me to fight Avar. He is a champion warrior on his planet."

"I know, and you are sadly lacking in martial skills! But you must do so. Avar has already agreed to lose."

Putting up his hand to stop her speaking, he shook his head. "Princess, what haven't you told me?"

She took a breath, then said, "Avar and I made an oath to marry."

"You made an oath?!" 

Shamara nodded. "Before many hundreds of people from Calabria, Teralon and the far corners of the galaxy." 

Dagan took a step back. "By the gods, you are all but his wife! I would not dishonor him!"

Shamara stamped her foot. "Haven't you been listening?"

"What kind of despicable cur tries to take another man's wife?"

"I am not his wife! Besides, what kind of despicable cur pledges to marry one sister while mating with another?"

She had a point. Avar should not have made a pledge to marry Shamara when he had feelings for her sister. "Well, I suppose I could challenge Avar, but only if you are sure Avar is in agreement with this plan. You realize that he will be disgraced by this fiasco?"

"Better disgraced than beheaded by my father!"

Dagan nodded. "Well put, princess." He shot out his arm, catching her around the waist and dragging her to him. "I think we should get better acquainted." Before she could protest, and she was getting ready to speak, he put his lips to her half-open mouth. She stiffened against him, and her eyes were wide as she stared in his face in shock. That was hardly the response he was expecting, so he released her.

"What did you do that for?" she demanded as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I'm sure I have no idea." Shamara was not as hot-blooded as her sister was.

"I heard that!" She swung her open palm and he felt a sharp sting to his face. "Do not have such disrespectful thoughts about my sister!"

"I beg your forgiveness." Shamara needed to a little more yielding with her future husband.

"I heard that too!" She wiped her hands nervously on her clothing. "But I understand that you are going to be my husband, so I suppose I can allow you to kiss me from time to time."

She closed her eyes, raised her face to his and puckered her lips. Dagan stared down at her for a moment, but when he thought about how he would soften up that sweet mouth of hers, he noticed the eagle flying in the sky. He wondered if the wolf were near by.

"Dagan?" he heard Shamara call after him as he dashed through the alien forest. As he ran, he kept the eagle in sight. Shamara was behind him, and he was glad because he felt more at ease when she stayed with him during the trances. Dagan guessed that the gods' will was that they be together. Could that be why they made Chaela more alluring to Avar? What man would choose any woman over Shamara? Only a fool. 

He finally broke through to a clearing, and Dagan recognized the cave they had been to in another trance. As he remembered it, Dagan rubbed his jaw, and Shamara broke through the clearing and slammed against him. They both tumbled to the ground, and Dagan was pleased that Shamara ended up on top of him. This was how they were positioned before the emperor put an end to their fun.

"You are eager!" She couldn't retort, because Dagan rolled her onto her back and pressed his lips to hers. Shamara resisted him at first, and then she softened and slipped her arms around his waist and he felt her hands slide up his back to his shoulders. She was warm and pliant, and when he lifted away from her to find and undo the sash that kept her clothing together, Shamara released a soft sighing moan. Dagan jerked off his own shirt, then brought her to his lap to kiss again. Now he ran his fingers through her hair and down her bare back and she did the same to him. 

He suddenly felt something wet slide across his neck, and he knew it wasn't Shamara's tongue. Then Dagan remembered that the cave lead to a boreworm nest, so he jerked away from her, grabbed her wrist and leapt back, fumbling for his sword. He heard Shamara giggling, and he turned to see the wolf sitting on its haunches panting, its tongue hanging out the side of its mouth.

"Is that a sign from the gods?" asked Shamara with wide eyes, but he could see that she was holding back her laughter.

Dagan snatched up his shirt to put on as she re-tied her sash. "You may laugh, princess, but I believe this is, indeed, a sign."

"I think she was jealous!" Shamara giggled as she patted the wolf on the head.

The wolf suddenly growled and turned to the cave. The eagle screeched.

"The gods wish us to enter the cave," he stated.

Shamara gasped. "Are you demented? I have seen the creature that lives in there!"

"Then I shall enter alone!"

But Shamara followed him closely when he entered the cave. He found some sticks and put them together as a torch. Shamara was looking at the marks on the wall.

"This is very old Guerani script," she told him. She pointed to a symbol that was carved in several places. "This is the mark of Camridaeus."

"We can study it later," he said as he moved further into the cavern. This time he was aware of the pitfalls, and Shamara stayed near him as they continued downward on the sloping, rocky path. Although they were headed further from the surface, instead of being chilly, the cave was growing warmer. The walls were slippery with the glowing green slime that Winner valued so highly. He noticed that Shamara was covering her nose with fabric from her garment, and Dagan also found it difficult to breathe from the horrendous stench that arose from the creature's byproducts.

Dagan was unsure of the gods' will. Then again, when had he been certain of anything the gods had wanted of him? If this was a test, he was determined not to fail them or to shame Shamara.

They came to a wide cavern, and waving the torch around, Dagan saw the exit on the other side. He began to edge along the wall, but suddenly Shamara released his arm and dashed to the middle of the wide-open space.

"Do you see it! Dagan! Look!" But suddenly the floor gave away and Shamara disappeared downwards with a mountain of rocks and soil. The cave-in left a ledge around the rim of the cavern, and Dagan clung to the side until the landslide ended. 

"Shamara!" he called and waved the torch. He could not even see the bottom of the black pit. "Shamara!"

He heard a moan and was relieved that she was still alive. "I'm coming to get you!" But Dagan knew that he couldn't go down the same way she had. He was likely to break his neck. Shamara was alive only by some miracle. The gods' will.

So Dagan moved carefully along the edge of the wall, and as he was about to enter the passage he had earlier noted, he saw what had excited Shamara. On the wall there were symbols carved, but he could read them for they were written in strange script, both of Calabria and Bayman: Welcome to Shamara of the Guerani. Dagan shivered although it was anything but cold, then he plunged into the passage. 

Almost immediately he almost lost his footing as the ground became very steep, but Dagan kept his balance and hurried downward as fast as he could without tumbling end over end. When he emerged from the narrow passage, he almost didn't have time to react as a boreworm shot into the cleared area, its mouth open intending to make a meal of him. But Dagan tossed aside the torch and raised his hands to blast the beast with such energy that it was thrown against the far wall, its huge body bursting and splattering the cave.

Dagan looked around the cave and saw at least a dozen entrances from different directions. Either the beast traveled quite frequently or he had stumbled onto a nest. The latter proved to be true as another boreworm slithered in from a different direction, and Dagan was able to finish it with at least as much mess as the first. If he hadn't been worried about Shamara, Dagan would stay to finish a few more, but he could hear her moaning, closer now, so he ducked into one of the passages.

Traveling in the dark was difficult because he could only use the sounds Shamara made as a guide. He might fall through another hole and be lost forever, but Dagan had to trust in the gods. Finally he came upon the chamber where Shamara lay. He could hear her, but he could not see even with the glowing green ooze that made befouled the air. Dagan blasted a corner opposite from where he heard Shamara, and he was able to light the area.

When he saw Shamara, he gasped. Although the debris from the trap was several feet away, she was lying on a pile of round objects that Dagan realized were eggs. She was plastered down by the same green muck that covered the walls.

"Dagan!" she cried out. "Dagan help!"

He hurried to her although he had to stop once when his foot crashed through an egg and was caught in the embryonic slime. Finally he reached her and saw that she was trapped and could not move, so he began the unpleasant task of clawing off the noxious fluid from her.

"How did you get here?" he asked as he removed the last of it and pulled her to him.

She winced in pain, and he looked down to see that she must have sprained her ankle. "The creature dug me out! I was afraid it was going to eat me, but it placed me in here and sprayed that on me to keep me here."

Dagan realized why when two of the eggs began cracking open. She had been left to nourish the young. "Let's get out of here." He lifted her and started to leave, but he paused at the exit and turned back. There were hundreds of eggs, and judging from the many entrances, he concluded that this was the boreworm nest. Dagan knew why they had been drawn to this place. The gods wished for him to rectify one of their mistakes. 

After gently placing Shamara on the ground, Dagan raised his hands. Asking the gods for their power, he blasted the room until he had turned it into an inferno. Then he pulled Shamara up and began to run back up the passage he had taken downwards. Luckily they were not pursued, but the fire was spreading through the cavern, running along the walls. He was able to dive from the cave into the open air and roll over Shamara just as the cave exploded and rocks rained down from the sky.

"We are back where we started," whispered Shamara.

"Except that you do not smell so sweet now, princess," he said in her ear.

She pushed him off, and Dagan was expecting her to leave in a tiff, but she smiled and untied the sash of her soaking, stinking clothing. Dagan couldn't remember to breathe as she peeled off the layers until she was standing bare in front of him.

"There is a stream just over there." She smiled at him. "I will let you wash me off."

The gods were finally cooperating! Dagan dashed to the stream and fell to his knees as he pulled off his shirt and soaked it in the water. She joined him at the stream, but she dipped her clothing in and began to scrub it. He watched her fine body at work until she turned to look at him, then he pulled his soaked shirt from the water.

"Lay back, princess." He hoped she didn't realize how eager he was to do this or she might get frightened and run away.

But she did as he asked, then smiled as he lifted a leg to wash. "Now do not forget to get every inch or I will have to punish you."

"You will not get the chance to punish me, princess," he murmured as he moved the cloth up her leg. "Because I intend to get inches you didn't even know you had."

"Wizard!" Dagan felt a booted foot in his backside. "Get up you lazy lout!"

Turning, he found that Magnar had drawn him out of the trance. "Did you not hear the explosion? Winner wants us to check it out."

As Dagan stood and brushed dirt, leaves and twigs from his clothing, he wondered if Winner had interrupted Magnar and Oxana. He hoped Magnar was as annoyed as he now was. Dagan wanted to shake his fists at the gods. He imagined that they were laughing at him.

"What is so funny, wizard?" asked Magnar.

Dagan followed behind him as they went, but he was chuckling to himself. At least this time Shamara would be as disappointed as he was.

He recognized the route, and they soon came to the clearing with the now obliterated cave. Magnar grunted. "Winner won't be happy. This was the only boreworm nest we have been able to find. We won't know for weeks the extent of the damage to the adults."

Dagan turned to leave with Magnar, but he saw a scrap of cloth, and reaching down to pick it up, he discovered that it was the sash to Shamara's garment.

Smiling, he stuffed it inside his shirt.


	20. Duo Maxwell returns

****

Mars Colony Clinic 

Trynity excused herself and quickly left the clinic and her patients behind to return to her house. She was out of breath when she finally made it inside and pressed the button to the telecom. Quynn's face appeared on the screen. She appeared to be in her uniform and from the backdrop, Trynity guessed that she was already sitting in the Deathscythe.

"Hey, Mom, you made great time!" Quynn was grinning. "One minute thirty-two seconds from patient to telecom!"

Trynity was relieved to see that her daughter could still smile. "I hoped you would stop here before going back to work."

"I was going to, but there was a little trouble on the second moon that Lord Duo had to take care of before he left. So we got back a little later than he intended and I am on duty."

"Are you all right?" There was so much more that Trynity wanted to say to her daughter, but the telecom just didn't seem like the right communication. What she really wanted was to hold her in her arms and stroke her hair like she would do when Quynn was a little girl and had skinned her knee or gotten a sliver. Of course what had happened to her was far more serious than that, but Trynity still felt that she could still soothe her daughter's pain.

"I'm fine. I wasn't too good at first, but then I met this amazing man!" Trynity guessed who before Quynn blurted his name. "Lord Apolo! I know you are acquainted with him! I can't believe you actually had your hands on that gorgeous specimen!"

Trynity laughed. "Slow down, Quynn. I had my hands on him for medical reasons and no other."

"He held my hands and spoke to me, and suddenly I felt better. Somehow, he just gave me peace of mind." Quynn sighed dreamily. "He is so adorable that I cannot believe he doesn't have a wife. Then again, what woman would want to share him?"

"I'm glad he was able to help you." Trynity still would rather have been with her. "Did you enjoy your stay on Calabria?"

"I didn't go to Calabria. When I first got there, I just wanted to hide in my room, so I stayed at Lord Duo's palace on the second moon. Mom, the place is huge! He has so many servants that I didn't learn any of their names. And I have never seen so much butt-kissing in my entire life!"

Trynity glanced around her own modest home, which was strewn with the mess Stryfe and his grandfather had made. Trynity hadn't straightened up in at least three days because she had been so exhausted after work. She shrugged and scolded herself for comparing her lifestyle to Duo's. There was no competition between them.

Quynn went on. "My bedroom was bigger than our entire house!"

Trynity's shoulders slumped. "That's nice."

"Prince Amyr's room had a swimming pool! Well, they called it a bathing pool, but…"

"Hold on!" Trynity frowned at her daughter. "What were you doing in Prince Amyr's room?"

Quynn's face turned a dark shade of pink. "I was just showing him to his room when he arrived. Taeron was with us! Anyway, a servant told me that Lord Duo's sleeping chamber is even bigger and grander than that of the crowned prince! You will have to let me know." She winked.

Trynity gasped. "Quynn! What kind of a remark was that? I doubt I will ever see it! Lord Duo has gone back to his life. You said yourself that he had problems to take care of…"

"Prince Amyr is taking care of them."

"What?" Trynity didn't dare hope that Duo was returning. Her heart would be broken if she learned otherwise.

"You had better clean up the house, Mom. Duo Maxwell is coming to call on you."

Trynity spun around and looked frantically to all corners of the house. She had no time! She had patients to see!

"He won't arrive for a few hours. Heero had to finish up some paperwork to grant them diplomatic immunity because Winner wants Taeron arrested for murder."

"Taeron is with him?" 

"Lord Duo is bringing Shamara back to Mars Colony. That girl can't make up her mind about Prince Dagan! First she wants him, then she doesn't. Now she wants him again."

Trynity hid her disappointment. Duo was returning for Shamara's sake and not to see her again. "Mr. Winner isn't going to be happy about their return."

"Especially when they take away his wizard. Heero is writing an official order form the Cinq Kingdom to release Prince Dagan or Winner will face arrest. I'm hoping he'll get arrested."

Trynity was too but she didn't say so. "He's been quiet since Malik's death."

"You don't really think he is mourning, do you?" Quynn made a sound of disgust. "I only wish Taeron had time to finish off Winner while he was at it. Malik was bragging about killing Pops." She slammed her hand down and alarms started sounding from her gundam. "Oops! Oh my God! I think I may have incinerated Sam's cubicle. He is going to be so pissed, Mom! He treats the Deathscythe like it's his child! He was so happy when I returned to show me his 'office.' Now I've wrecked it!"

Trynity raised her brow. Could a couple of weeks with Duo Maxwell actually rub off on Quynn? Or did she have it in her all the while? "Quynn, you didn't tell Sam about your real father, did you?"

"I didn't have the heart, Mom. When he heard that Lord Duo had returned, he was ranting about not letting Duo Maxwell within a hundred meters of the gundam."

Trynity nodded. "They didn't have a good relationship."

"Well, I have to get back to work now. There's a mess to clean up. I'll check back with you in a few days to see how far you've gotten with Duo Maxwell." She winked and the screen blanked.

Trynity went to Stryfe's room and pounded on the door. "Wake up! I need you to clean!"

Her father exited from a door further down the hall, his shaggy, graying hair tousled, wearing the now rumpled clothing he had slept in. "What's all the racket? Can't a man get some sleep?"

Trynity took a step back. "Father! You were drinking! Did you and Stryfe go into the village last night after I went to bed?" Without waiting for an answer from her groggy father, she pounded on Stryfe's door again and she heard him swear. Then she heard him say something, but it was muffled. The feminine giggle that followed was not.

"Stryfe! Do you have a woman in there?" Trynity was furious.

"Mom, don't burst a vein!" he called out, then swore again. "It isn't what you think!"

The door opened and a young woman stumbled out. Her clothing was also disheveled so Trynity was relieved to see that Stryfe hadn't been cavorting with females under her roof. The woman fell to her knees and promptly vomited on the floor. 

"Stryfe!" Trynity didn't think the day could get much worse.

Sudden pounding at the door was accompanied frantic shouts. "Dr. Nelson! Dr. Nelson, my wife needs you!"

"Just a minute!" Trynity turned to look at the groaning men. "Clean this mess up! And get this…this…"

"Dr. Nelson, my wife says the baby is coming now!"

Trynity went to the door and jerked it open. A terrified man stood holding his pregnant wife. She had never seen them before, but that didn't surprise her. These ignorant people didn't think pre-natal care was necessary, but when it came time to drop the child they wanted her to be there to catch it. More often than not the baby had complications that could have been avoided by having a doctor monitor its development.

"Doctor?" He was still standing in the doorway. Trynity could see that her water had broken on her doorstep and the woman was groaning and wincing as her contractions came one after another.

To determine if there was time to take her back to the clinic, Trynity checked her, then shook her head. "The baby's head is already half out! Put her in…" she saw that the man was about to faint. "Stryfe, take the woman to my room."

He trudged to the man and gently took his wife, then headed to Trynity's bedroom, sidestepping the vomit and woman who was heaving again. "Father, get this woman out of here!" Trynity ordered.

"No need to shout!"

"I'm not shouting!" But she shouted loud enough to make him groan. Stryfe had helped the delivering woman to sit up in the right position to deliver. "Very good, son. You would make an excellent nurse."

"I suppose you need boiled water. I need to make some lunch anyway." Stryfe was grumbling as he shuffled out. The woman's husband entered and sat on a chair, whining every time his wife moaned. Trynity coaxed the woman, and in no time, she delivered a healthy boy. Her father arrived with the water and towels, but he did nothing more to help. Trynity cleaned the baby and handed it to the woman, and as her and her husband ogled their precious child, Trynity looked at the mess on her bed.

"It's ruined," she predicted. "Now I'll have to sleep at the clinic while the Calabrians are here."

"The Calabrians are coming?" Her father raised his brow. "Does this mean I will have a chance to poke Duo Maxwell in the nose for abandoning you?"

She raised a brow. "Father, I don't think you could land the blow. Besides, it wasn't all his fault."

"Sounds like you are melting like butter," he chuckled.

"I'm just stating a fact. If Stryfe has finished cooking, then I would like him to take the mother and her child to the clinic for observation. I need to clean my house."

"I don't think you will be able to get to that any time soon." Dr. Stryfe nodded toward the bed. "I'm no expert, but I think that woman is having another baby."

Trynity spun around to look. "Damn! Twins! Tell Stryfe to boil more water."

The second baby was more difficult to deliver as it presented itself breech. Trynity had dealt with the problem before at the infirmary on L12, but not here in such primitive conditions. The mother labored for three more hours, and Trynity thought it might be dangerous to move her. In the end, she had to reach in and turn the baby herself, then brought a baby girl into the world. The mother was exhausted and passed out, the father had fainted, and Dr. Stryfe sat rocking the baby boy. Trynity wasn't sure what to do with the girl.

"I'll take her."

Her head snapped around and she saw that Duo was in the doorway. "You're early! I wasn't expecting you for hours."

"Actually," he said as he carefully took the child from her, "I am late. There was a minor scuffle at the spaceport. Winner's men tried to grab Taeron for an old-fashioned lynching."

"He wasn't hurt, was he?" Trynity kept her attention on the woman and was relieved when she stopped bleeding.

"Taeron?" Duo chuckled. "He's an imperial guard, Trynity, and the best of the lot."

He sounded quite proud of his son. Trynity was glad they had developed a healthy relationship. She looked over her shoulder to see that he was wiping the baby. "I'm sorry about the greeting or lack thereof."

Duo chuckled. "I was a little surprised by the vomit all over your couch."

"On my couch!" Trynity was going to kill Stryfe for bringing that woman into her home.

"So, where is a diaper. I'll show you how handy I am with a baby."

"Too bad you weren't around seventeen years ago to show us," grunted Dr. Stryfe. The baby was sucking on his finger.

If the old coot were within range, Trynity would kick him.

Duo took a spare cloth and proceeded to efficiently diaper the baby in a style that Trynity didn't recognize. "There. I call it 'The Imperial.' As for your remark, Dr. Stryfe, I'm not going to bother responding. I know I disappointed you, sir, but at the time I thought I was doing the right thing." He tucked the baby in his arm after wrapping it in a configuration Trynity guessed was Calabrian. The newborn seemed content. Trynity was impressed.

"You'll have to teach me that technique," she said with a laugh. The husband of the mother roused himself and was embarrassingly profuse in his thanks. When he took his daughter in his arms, there were tears in his eyes, and Trynity noticed that Duo looked away.

"I had better check on Shamara. She offered to help Stryfe clean." He walked out without looking at Trynity.

She wanted to cry and had to fight back tears. The mother was still sleeping and beginning a normal recovery, so Trynity arranged a makeshift nursery by emptying two drawers and padding them with some sheets. As Dr. Stryfe laid the baby boy in one drawer, the father sat in a chair by the bed to wait for his wife to awaken. 

After changing in the bathroom, Trynity picked up a picture frame from her dresser that now showed a shot of Quynn and Stryfe which was taken at the academy only a year ago. By pressing a button, she changed the picture to another when they were just toddlers.

"Why don't you give that to Maxwell?" asked her father from over her shoulder. "He might like to see the childhood of the children you cheated him of."

Trynity took a breath to keep from exploding. Her patients didn't need to see her beat her father into a bloody pulp. "I don't need your advice!" She walked past him, but she heard him chuckling when she left the room. She should put him in a home for the mentally unstable!

In the living room, Taeron stood leaning against a wall with his arms folded as he watched Shamara who was kneeling on the floor with a scrub brush in her hand, a confused and disoriented look on her face. Trynity doubted she could use the scrub brush. Stryfe was slouched in a chair snoring.

"Stryfe! Get up and help the princess!" She crossed the room to him and slapped him across the head. "This whole mess is your fault."

Stryfe rubbed his head. "It was Gramps' idea to go into the village. We ran into this group of Winner's thugs bothering that woman, so we helped her. Then we all went to a bar, and Gramps had this idea of a drinking game and…"

"My God! I can't believe I once thought he might be a good father-figure!" She looked around the room, and not seeing Duo, she was afraid he had gone out to lament the missing years of his children's lives by swinging his nasty sword.

"He's in the kitchen," spoke up Taeron.

Trynity braced herself, and clutching the frame album, she pushed the door open and walked into the kitchen. She almost laughed when she saw him scrounging in the refrigerator because the scene was reminiscent of the many times he could be found in the kitchen at Seaside Lab doing just the same. 

"Is this edible?" she heard him ask. After a moment he answered himself. "Probably not."

"I doubt there is anything edible in the refrigerator," she said.

Duo bumped his head as he straightened, and all the contents on one shelf rattled. "Do you use this to store your research?"

"I don't do much research, and if there is any research in there, it is probably Stryfe's. His job is to cook and clean the kitchen. I think he's researching the limits of my patience with the bad job he's doing. Have a seat, and I'll throw something together."

Duo looked skeptical, but he sat on a stool near the chopping counter. Trynity put the picture album before him. "I thought you might like to see this. I have a few of them around the house, but these were my favorite pictures."

He didn't pick it up. "I can't take back the missing years. They aren't my children. You and Lars raised them."

She turned away to open a cupboard so that he couldn't see that she was hurt. Trynity thought he was rejecting her children. "You claimed Taeron."

"I've known Taeron since he was born because I have had to work with his mother in establishing governments on both moons. He's been nipping at my heels since he could walk. Holding that baby girl made me realize that I wanted one, that I was glad when Larya asked me to father her daughter."

Trynity was torn up inside by jealously of the other woman. Duo hadn't made any overtures toward her, even that one night in his room she had been the one to throw herself at him. He had a far different life in the Calabrian system in which she had no part and probably never would. "Did you see her while you were back?"

"We attended Shamara's betrothal together."

"Shamara is betrothed?" Trynity turned around. "What are you doing back here then?" Trynity dared to hope again that he had come for her.

"Now she wants Dagan again. Truth is, the man who pledged to marry her, Avar of Teralon, had already picked another flower in Trey's garden. Shamara's sister, Chaela, is in love with him and he claims to love her. He promised to marry Shamara out of some sense of duty to his father. Now Chaela is knocked up and Shamara has come to get Dagan back to challenge Avar for the right to marry her." Duo chuckled as he absent-mindedly picked up the picture frame. "I see Lars must have been with you when they were born."

She refused to feel guilty. "I don't know what I would have done without him. Relena made plans to be with me, but they came early as twins often do."

"Good old Lars was around to lend a helping hand." Duo looked from the picture to Trynity. "I'm sorry I said that. I should be grateful that he was there for you when I wasn't."

She raised her chin. "Lars was a saint! He loved me even at my worst. When I was struggling through medical school, he left his post with the Cinq Kingdom command to take care of the children. He took an endless succession of odd jobs so that he could support us and still have time to be there for us. He devoted his life to me."

"I'm sorry I didn't," said Duo sadly. "I thought I was making a noble sacrifice."

"You did make a noble sacrifice." Their eyes met. His were glistening with tears that matched her own. He slid off the chair, and Trynity took a step toward him.

The kitchen door banged open. "Is anyone cooking in here?" Her father scratched his head. "Someone should tell that pretty young princess how to scrub. She's got water all over the place. I think your carpet is ruined."

"Father, you are a jackass!" Trynity marched out of the kitchen.

"Well, there goes my chance for a meal," sighed Duo as he sat down and picked up the frame album. Although it hurt to see the different stages their children had gone through without him, he was mollified by the fact that they appeared very happy. At first he was annoyed to see Lars in pictures, then he became amused as he saw the lummox in many undignified fatherly poses. Lars had been a good father. Duo couldn't have done better.

"You broke my heart."

Duo looked up to see Dr. Stryfe staring at him. "If I had known…"

"Even if that wormhole had opened up to let you back in, I would have forbidden her from accepting you back!" Dr. Stryfe was furious. "She was crushed! I couldn't believe you would do such a thing because I thought you understood how fragile her feelings were. But I was wrong. You were just a punk who wanted to get into her pants."

Duo didn't think before throwing a punch that sent the older man to the floor. He stood over him rubbing his knuckles. "I'd like nothing better than to give you what you deserve, old man, for making her grow up in a pile of wires and gundanium without any parents."

"You're going to beat up a senior citizen?" Dr. Stryfe struggled to stand. He rubbed his jaw. "That was a good hit on an old codger."

"You think you owe me one?" Duo pointed to his jaw. He doubted old man Stryfe knew how to make a fist. "Put one right here."

To his surprise, Dr. Stryfe seized a cutting board and slammed it against Duo's head. Duo fell to the floor in a daze, but he could hear Dr. Stryfe laughing, then suddenly he heard Trynity shout at him in outrage.

"What have you done! Father!"

"He hit me first!"

"Good one Gramps. Looks like you knocked him silly."

Duo was watching little explosions of light until Trynity's face appeared before him and she lightly slapped his cheek. "Duo, can you hear me?" She turned away. "Father, I'm not going to forgive you for this!"

"I'll just add that to the list." Both he and Stryfe were laughing. Duo felt himself chuckling.

"See! He's fine."

Duo shook his head, and he pushed off Trynity's helping hands. "I'm all right. But I think I had better lie down."

"I'll show you to a room."

"Oh no you don't!" Dr. Stryfe hurried forward to grab Duo's arm. "I know that old trick. First you show him to the room, then the rest of us wait a couple hours before you come out explaining that you had a lot to talk about. Funny thing, we wouldn't have heard much coherent discussion."

"Father!" Trynity's face was almost the same shade as her hair.

Duo chuckled. "I guess he's no fool. Lead the way, sir."

"You will be bunking with Stryfe. I'd keep you with me, but I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, so I don't trust you to go sneaking off like an alley cat to…"

"Father! You have gone too far!" Trynity picked up a pan.

Duo pushed him out of the room. "Better move or you'll get hurt."

Duo could hear Stryfe trying to calm his mother. Taeron raised a brow as they past and Duo was sure he was wondering what was going on. Shamara was on the floor scrubbing, but she was obviously disgusted by the vomit because she was avoiding it. Duo snorted with laughter, which earned him an imperial glare. He would tease her later about her foolish offer to help.

Dr. Stryfe waited until he was settled on Stryfe's bed before leaving, but he stopped at the door. "You aren't here to break her heart, are you?"

Duo put his arms behind his head and smiled at him. "I'm taking her back with me, sir. I'm warning you not to get in my way."

He chuckled. "Just tell me what I can do to help. She needs to get away from this place, and I think she might do it for you, Duo Maxwell." Then he left Duo alone.

As he stared at the ceiling, Duo wondered if Dr. Stryfe were right. The physicist wasn't particularly noted for his understanding of his own daughter, but Duo thought that he probably knew Trynity better now than he had in the past. At least he had his consent. How would he feel if Duo picked her up and carried her away over his shoulder? How would her children feel?

After a short nap, the aching in Duo's head had subsided. Exiting the room, he found that Shamara had quit the cleaning duty and turned to nursing by helping the woman with her two new babies. Stryfe had cleaned the mess, and the house was looking neat and comfortable. Taeron, Stryfe and his grandfather were examining the scrolls that Duo realized they had forgotten. Trynity had returned to the clinic, and Duo thought it might be unwise to bother her when she was busy. She seemed a bit flustered by his arrival anyway. Duo wondered if her house was usually in a state of chaos. He was so used to having servants around that he had forgotten what it was like to pick up after himself. Judging from Stryfe's room, he had never learned.

Stryfe left his grandfather's side. "Are you feeling better, Lord Duo?"

"I might be if I learn there has been some progress in the making of a meal."

"I have found edible fare," volunteered Taeron.

Although Duo enjoyed Calabrian food, he was hoping to eat what was not available in his own home.

"How about mac and cheese?" suggested Stryfe. "It doesn't take long and it fills you up."

"As long as your mother doesn't make it. The last time she made it for me…"

"When did she ever cook for you?" scoffed Dr. Stryfe.

"I worked up an appetite on some of those moonlit walks on the beach." Duo smiled as he remembered.

"I've heard about them!" Stryfe laughed, and Duo felt uncomfortable with the memory so he pushed it to the back of his mind for some later time. 

"Anyway, she served me one huge orange, spongy ball. Seems it got a little pasty and she didn't know how to deal with it."

"What did you do?" asked Stryfe.

"It was either get hit by it or eat it, and I thought I would be safer if I ate it." Duo laughed. "She was so happy that I ate her creation that I didn't have the heart to tell her she forgot half the ingredients."

Stryfe sighed. "The Trynity Stryfe Nelson that you know and that I know are two different people."

Duo felt sorry that she had changed and he knew that he had been responsible. 

"My lord," spoke up Taeron. "These people have translated part of the text from the cave. Shamara is mentioned several times."

"It appears to be the insane ranting of madman caught on this planet," Dr. Stryfe told them. 

"It is a curse," agreed Stryfe. "Gramps and I are not in agreement that the curse is called down on Shamara, however. I believe the curse is intended for what he calls the sacred shield."

"The symbols are similar," argued his grandfather, "but I am quite certain that the individual was calling upon Shamara."

"Gramps, will you open your eyes and look! The symbols clearly state 'sacred shield.'"

"Stryfe, your work is careless, but what can I expect from the shallow gene pool you have to work with."

"You are both right." They all turned to see Shamara standing in the doorway. "My name is a prayer that Calabrian warriors shout as they go into battle. You have done so yourself, Lord Duo, yet you do not know what it means."

"What does it mean?" asked Duo curiously. Many Calabrian men shouted the word before fighting.

"It is a word to invoke the sacred shield of the gods to protect them in battle." She came forward and looked down at the scripts on the page. "To curse the sacred shield is a great blasphemy. Whatever man was trapped on this planet was truly evil." Shamara reached down to touch the symbol for Camridaeus, and Duo barely had enough time to catch her as her eyes fluttered shut and she became limp.

She opened her eyes to find herself in the cave, but it was lit by a fire that flickered. Shamara was having difficulty breathing, and she became aware of another person in the cave. A man was panting as he carved into the stone wall, muttering the accursed words as he pressed a pointed stone into the rock with such strength that his hand bled as the symbols formed.

"Who are you?" she asked after taking a few breaths. Shamara realized that the planet was far different from the one she had left to enter this trance.

He turned his head to look at her, and she gasped. Shamara recognized the face of the man she had previously seen paired with Dagan. "You know who I am. And I know who you are, sacred shield."

There was such hatred in his voice that she stepped quickly away from him.

"I do not know you!" she insisted.

He dropped to his knees before her, and his bloody hands grasped the hem of her clothing. "Why did you betray me? How could you leave me?"

"I…I do not know…" Shamara was frightened of the man.

He raised his face to her. "One day I will avenge myself on you! I curse you, Shamara. I call upon all my minions to destroy you!"

The man fell back, his breathing irregular. She cautiously approached him and reached out her hand unsteadily. 

"Ulfyna," he murmured with what appeared to be his last breath.

"Shamara!"

She turned away from him and saw Dagan approaching her. "He is dying. I must help."

"Who?"

Shamara turned back and found that she was no longer in the cave, and in the spot where the man had been lying, the wolf was resting. Shamara felt a shiver run down her spine. "He was here just a moment ago."

"Who?" repeated Dagan.

"I don't know, but he seemed to think I should." She sighed. "I guess I am over-tired from the journey."

Dagan took her hand and helped her to her feet. She had no time to react when he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. There was no denying the pleasure she felt as he slid his arms around her waist and drew her closer. Sighing, she slipped her own arms around his neck. He lifted her and laid her gently on the ground.

"I have been thinking, princess," he said as he lay beside her and propped himself up on an elbow. "We should marry before we return to Calabria."

"My parents would be very disappointed to not witness my vows," she said. "Besides, you must challenge Avar. It would be very dishonorable to do otherwise."

Dagan stretched out on his back to stare up at the sky. "We do not ever have to go back."

"I could not do such a thing to my mother and father!" she exclaimed. Was Dagan serious? Shamara was afraid that he was and that she would have to choose between him and her family. There was a time when her choice would have been simple, but as she now watched him, she wasn't sure. What was happening to her? Why would she even consider giving up her family for such a dunce?

"My father would probably be relieved if I never returned."

"He believes that you are dead," she reminded him. "I think he will be quite shocked by your resurrection."

"I doubt there was any outpouring of grief on his part. He was very jealous of my powers, and yet at times he seemed to be afraid of me."

"I am sorry, Dagan." 

_He seeks to earn your sympathy._

Shamara turned her head to the direction from which the voice came and she saw Camrin. He was standing several feet away.

_You must leave this place and leave Dagmar behind. He wishes only evil on you._

Shamara turned to look at Dagan again, but now she saw the shadowed ghost of the man she had seen before slip quickly back into Dagan's body. She shook her head to clear it.

Dagan glanced at her. "I suppose you are right. We can return to Calabria for the wedding of the millennium. You seem preoccupied, princess. Is my presence already boring you?"

She looked at him. Shamara tried to tell him what she was seeing, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Camrin shook his head. She wished Camrin would disappear because he was confusing her. Purposely she looked away and caught Dagan staring at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what? And what is so interesting over there?" Dagan stood and walked toward the spot where Camrin stood, but he stopped short. "I don't see anything." He reached out a hand that went through the ghost that was Camrin. 

Camrin was smiling. _He can't see me or hear me. I could end his miserable life now._

Shamara hurried to Dagan and put herself between him and the vision. She smiled up at Dagan although her insides were churning with fear for him. "I am thirsty. There's a stream nearby."

"There is always a stream nearby," muttered Dagan although he didn't complain as she took his arm and lead him away. "You seem tense, princess."

"I am always tense when you are near," she said without thinking.

Dagan laughed and slipped his arm around her waist. "You have no idea how tense I am around you."

Shamara didn't really understand his statement and the tone with which he delivered it. It did make butterflies flutter about in her stomach. "I meant that when you are near, there is danger."

He grunted. "I was thinking the same of you. I think that you attract beasts."

The stream was very small so they need not fear a water creature attacking them on the shore. Shamara sat down and pulled off her shoes to dip her feet in the cool water, and she leaned back to look at the sun. "It is so very far away. Do you miss our two suns, Dagan?"

He lay on his side and propped up on an elbow as he looked at her. "I miss the two moons, especially the brightness of the second moon."

"The moons in this systems are rocky wastelands," commented Shamara. "Both of our moons are fertile and hospitable."

"There are still people on Bayman who are angry that Calabria settled them," commented Dagan.

"My father claimed them because he knew that you soft traders from Bayman couldn't control those that would settle on them." She could see that Dagan wanted to argue, but he decided against it. Shamara thought she should change the subject also. One purpose of their marriage was to end the dispute over the moons' governance.

"Tell me about your family," Shamara suggested. "I know that you have a sister."

"I do not consider Ryana my sister. We were raised apart because her mother was resentful of mine."

"Was your mother beautiful?" she asked. 

Dagan stared at the running water as he spoke. "My mother was very beautiful and very kind. She did not deserve to be mated to a pig like my father, but my grandfather insisted."

"Did she ever tell you how she felt?"

"She knew her duty was to produce the heir for the throne, but once she had done what was expected, she wanted no more to do with Seighen." Dagan sighed. "I was told that my grandfather died the moment I was born, the instant he touched me, so I never knew him although I was told by Master Nazzar that he was a kind and just ruler. My mother spoke often of his talents and his powers. I think she was proud that I would have them."

"And your father?" Shamara was prepared to hear a very different story.

"He cannot help that he did not receive the powers. Seighen has been very bitter, and when my mother was murdered, ending the pure line of our family, I suppose he lost faith in anything. For years now he hasn't done anything but enjoy himself." Dagan looked at her. "Enough about me. What of you? When did you discover your powers?"

Shamara smiled. "I have always known of my powers. My father says I called out across the universe to him the moment of my birth and that I continued to call to him until he came to me." She told Dagan of her father's struggle to take back his birthright. "He triumphed over them all," she concluded.

"The gods show him great favor. Tell me about you, Shamara." Dagan reached out to touch her hair. "Were you raised by an army of nursemaids?"

Shamara sighed. "I had one or two nannies, but I do not remember their names. I have spent most of my life with my parents. When my mother was busy with her newborn children, I stayed with my uncle, and if he could not take me, Lord Duo was only too happy to have me. I love them all dearly."

"You are very spoiled," he observed with a crooked smile.

She was about to retort, then realized he stated a fact. "I suppose I am used to getting my way. But I doubt you have ever been denied anything, Prince Dagan. I recall getting just such an impression when I touched your hands some years ago."

Dagan took his hand from her hair. "You did use your magic!"

She curled her fingers nervously. "I…I did not mean to…"

He stood. "You judged me unworthy!"

Shamara jumped up. "I meant no harm! I did not have control of my powers, and…"

Dagan grabbed her shoulders. "You sent your opinion back to me and it has directed my actions without me realizing it! I left my father's court to stay with Master Nazzar because I thought I was lacking, and I do not return unless summoned." He released her and turned around. "I was convinced I had done something to offend you."

Frustrated, Shamara wanted to pound on his back to make him listen. "You are being foolish! I couldn't help my thoughts. I was just a child!"

"You still are a child, princess!" Dagan turned to look at her over his shoulder. "I am not your toy. You ask me to go back to Calabria to save your sister?" He turned around fully to look down at her face. "Tell me, Shamara, what do _you_ want?"

"I have already told you! I must get Chaela out of this mess she has gotten herself into." Dagan was making her confused.

He framed her face with his hands. "What about _your_ feelings, Shamara? Do you have any? Have not the gods blessed you as they have me?"

She jerked away from him. What she felt pouring from his hands into her made her anxious and frightened. "You are using your powers on me!"

"I use no power." His hands dropped to his sides and she saw that he was disappointed. "I will return to Calabria with you, Shamara, and I will challenge Avar. Once that business is over, I will leave for Bayman. I will not marry you."

Stunned speechless, she could only watch him walk away. What had she said to upset him? If she knew, she would take it back!

__

"Do not mourn his leaving. He is trying to manipulate you, Shamara." 

Shamara spun around to see Camrin sitting on a rock near the stream. "What do you know about him? What are you trying to warn me against?"

__

"There is an evil spirit inside your prince." Camrin hopped off the rock and walked toward her. Shamara heard the wolf growling, so she took a step back. Camrin stopped immediately. _"I am hurt that you would be frightened of me."_

"I am not," she said, although she was afraid. Shamara no longer knew whom to trust. Although she had seen the spirit that hid inside Dagan without his knowledge, Shamara could not fear him. She felt more protective of him, considering his poor sword handling. Then again, he had mastered his powers so well that it seemed he could control the elements.

__

"You can trust me," Camrin told her softly as he stopped only inches from her.

Shamara had to find the truth, so she suddenly seized his hands. Camrin tried to wrest them back from her, but she held them tight. The sky above them became dark, and the wind began to whip the trees into a frenzy. Lightening flashed, followed closely with thunderclaps that shook the ground. She felt as if she were spinning, round and round, the earth around them giving away until they were standing on air with the storm raging around them.

"Shamara! Shamara!"

She could see Dagan nearby, but he was not alone. Standing behind him was the man she had seen earlier.

__

"Hold out your hand to him now, Ulfyna. Bring him in," said Camrin, but his face had changed.

"Who are you?" she asked. "Camridaeus?"

"It is time, sacred shield. Hold out your hand so that we might be done with this. We have waited long enough!"

But Shamara released him, and she fell back.

When she opened her eyes, she was in the cave again, but this time she saw that the man carving brutally into the rock had changed.

"I will wait," he was muttering. "And they will come. They will come for her, and when they do, I will destroy them." He turned to look at Shamara.

She gasped, for it was Camridaeus.


	21. Lunch with Quatre

****

Mars Colony

"I am so grateful for all that you have done for us!"

Trynity kept the smile pasted on her face as the father of the twins delivered in her home in her bed shook her hand without cease. She and Stryfe had just helped them return to their home in the village after five days recuperating in her own home, five days and five exhausting nights.

"I am glad I was able to help you." Although everyone had lost a great deal of sleep during the time they remained in her home because of the incessant crying of the newborns, Trynity thought it was fortunate that events unfolded as they had. The mother, Meggie, had no other children and was overwhelmed with her new motherhood. Trynity certainly knew how she felt. The father, Hank, was kind-hearted but simple-minded. He was of no use to his wife. When Trynity could get time away from the clinic, she returned to her home to help the two with the babies.

She discovered that while she was working at the clinic, Duo had tutored Hank in the caring of his newborn children. Duo had more patience with a crying infant than most men, and by the end of the week, he had counseled Hank and taught him the skills a father should know. His help should have delighted Trynity, but instead she was dismayed to realize just how horribly she had erred in judging Duo Maxwell seventeen years ago. He had been a father waiting to happen and she had taken the chance away from him.

"Now don't forget to tell Lord Duo to stop by for a good home-cooked meal," Hank said as he finally released her hand. "My Meggie is the best damned cook on this planet."

"You are included in the invitation," said Meggie from behind him. "If it weren't for you, Dr. Nelson, I don't know how we would have survived."

Trynity smiled at her. "I would be happy to accept your invitation and I am sure Lord Duo will be also."

"Tomorrow night." Hank was grinning like a fool.

When she finally escaped their small cottage, Trynity sent Stryfe back to the clinic to take care of what patients he thought he could handle so he could ease some of the pressure from Shamara who was dealing with the many mild complaints. Shamara had agreed to use her powers only when necessary, so she had learned to make a bandage and suture cuts although she thought the method rather primitive. 

After Stryfe had gone, Trynity made a trip to the drugstore where she purchased supplies. When the owner finished ringing up her items, she said, "I'm sorry, Fred, but I'll have to pay you later." Completely out of money, Trynity knew that she would have to return to L12 for a few weeks to work at the infirmary to pay for these supplies.

"No need to put it on her account, Fred. I will pay."

She didn't need to turn around. Trynity recognized the voice. "I would rather pay for them myself."

Quatre leaned on the counter and looked at her. "I wouldn't want you to have to leave Mars Colony." He reached up to touch her hair. "I miss you when you are gone."

She slapped his hand away. "Fred, put it on my account. You know I am good for it."

The flustered druggist looked from her to Quatre then quickly bagged the supplies for her. Before she could take the bag, Quatre grabbed it. "Why don't I walk you back to the clinic? There are all sorts of unsavory characters in the village nowadays."

"I'm looking at one right now," she muttered, and he chuckled.

She spun and walked out without responding. He was still chuckling when he caught up to her and slipped an arm around her waist. "Get your filthy hands off me," she said through gritted teeth.

"Just smile and pretend you like me," he murmured in her ear. "The villagers like to see us together."

"You like to see us together," she snapped. "You are hoping some of my respectability rubs off on you."

"What respectability?" Quatre laughed. "I think you have dropped a few percentage points in the opinion poll since taking those murdering aliens into your home."

She looked at him. "I doubt the good citizens of the colony respect you any more than they ever did."

"Do you think I care about their opinion of me? I have provided them with housing and jobs. They should be grateful."

"Grateful for what?" She stopped to look at him, wresting away from his arm around her waist. "Grateful that you haul off the men to work in your mines? And why don't these men ever return?"

"My dear, work in the mines is dangerous. Their widows are well-compensated."

Trynity wanted to retort that she knew exactly how those widows were compensated and it wasn't with a monetary stipend for their loss. But she held her tongue. She would accomplish nothing by arguing with Quatre on the street. Anywhere she looked, she could see his men, standing in an alley, in the doorway of a store, watching from the top of a roof. Trynity wondered if he were expecting trouble, then again, they could not afford to take the Calabrians lightly. 

"Why don't we catch a bite to eat at the cafe?" he suggested, then grabbed her arm to haul her in the direction of the establishment without waiting for her to refuse.

"I have a clinic with patients," she reminded him although she didn't bother struggling. Quatre would get his way. He always did.

"And I know for a fact that the lovely princess from Calabria is doing an admirable job taking care of their insignificant complaints." 

One of his men opened the door to the cafe, and at least two couples fled their meals when they entered.

Knowing she wasn't going to escape, she slid into a booth, and Quatre infuriated her by sliding onto the same bench. There was no room to avoid his body touching hers, and if she didn't think it was far too undignified, she would climb over the table. As if he thought she might, Quatre slipped an arm around her shoulders.

He leaned close and nuzzled the hair away from her ear. "Relax," he whispered, "I'm not going to bite you." And yet she was afraid he might when she felt his teeth graze her neck.

The waitress arrived to pour her a cup of coffee and leave behind tea, and Quatre ordered food for both of them. She wondered how she was going to make it through the meal without losing her cool.

"You have no complaint about my order?" he asked as he twirled one of her curls around his finger. "I happen to know what you like. I've studied you quite extensively."

"Really?" she asked over her cup of coffee. "I'm sure I have a few secrets."

"What woman doesn't?" His fingers brushed her neck and she shuddered with revulsion. "I want to learn yours." He leaned forward to kiss her, and she tried to jerk back, but his fingers caught her hair and held her to him. He kissed her hard, forcing open her mouth and thrusting his tongue inside. Just before she thought she would be sick, he released her, then sat back to calmly take a sip from his cup of tea. "Delightful," he commented.

Trynity's hand was shaking as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "You disgust me!"

"Are you sure you weren't just a little bit excited?" He was grinning at her, and she felt his hand slide over her thigh. "I know for a fact that you haven't been getting any action over there at the clinic. You must be eager for some."

Trynity was outraged, and she shoved his hand away. "You have been spying on me!"

Quatre smiled coolly at her. "I have always spied on you, Trynity. Watching you and Maxwell on the beach was more entertaining than those flicks Trowa rented."

"You … you creep!" Trynity felt dirty and looked away.

"I told you I have studied you and I know exactly what you like. There really isn't too much that you don't."

She picked up her now empty cup of coffee, ready to smash his skull, but the waitress hurried forward to fill it while Quatre smirked. "I don't know what I am doing here." She stood, but someone shoved her back down, and she realized that one of his men had taken the booth behind them.

"Let's just enjoy a nice lunch. Afterwards, if you wish, you can come up to the mansion and we can enjoy the afternoon together. I'll prove how well I have studied you."

"You are insane!"

"You just might find the afternoon with a madman quite exciting. In fact, I think I can guarantee that you will be back for more."

Trynity would have exploded had the waitress not set her sandwich and salad before her. Instead of dignifying what he said with a response, she turned her attention to her food, but she didn't fail to see Quatre squeeze the young waitress' backside when she left his steak behind.

Quatre noticed her disgusted look. "I have to leave my options open, you understand."

"You can leave them wide open."

Suddenly the men behind her grunted and shifted, and Trynity turned to see Duo enter the cafe. Seeing her with Quatre, he raised an eyebrow, then walked to their table, sidestepping neatly the men who tried to detain him.

"Is this a private party?" he inquired.

"Not at all." Quatre gestured to the empty bench opposite them and Duo sat. Before Quatre could react, Duo grabbed his plate and fork and pulled out his dagger.

Quatre's men were quicker. One grabbed Duo's wrist while the other pulled a gun to aim at his head. "Hey! You're spoiling my lunch."

"Boss?"

Quatre looked at the scene as if he would enjoy watching his men put a bullet in Duo's brain, but he waved his hand. "I'm sure he was merely cutting the steak." Reluctantly, his men returned to their guard position, and Duo turned his attention to his food. Trynity had been so afraid for him that she couldn't breathe, and now she wanted to kick him as he attacked the meat with gusto.

"You are mighty handy with that blade," commented Quatre as he draped a possessive arm around Trynity's shoulders. He signaled to the waitress and she disappeared into the kitchen. "Do you use it only on dead meat?"

Duo chuckled. "Eventually." He didn't seem to notice that Quatre was now stroking her upper arm. She felt ashamed that Quatre was touching her as if they were lovers, but she didn't move because she was afraid of what he might do or say.

"Interesting. I suppose you have had to learn many skills to survive on Calabria."

"Life there is difficult," Duo responded between bites of steak.

The waitress arrived with another plate of food for Quatre, and when she walked away, Duo glanced at her. Trynity tried to tell herself once again that Duo was nothing to her, that what had been between them was over, and yet she couldn't help the jealous creature that was threatening to cut loose form deep inside. Quatre relaxed and moved his arm as if he no longer felt he had to stake his claim on her.

"If you are interested, she is available," commented Quatre as he meticulously cut his meat into tiny portions. "I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed, since I know we have the same taste in women."

Trynity pushed her plate away. "I have lost my appetite."

Duo picked up a napkin and wiped the blade of his dagger, carefully examining the edge before tucking it back in his belt. "I really wasn't interested in Dorothy Catalonia."

Quatre smirked. "But I hear the bitch that whelped that butchering cur you call your son is of the same mold: controlling and ambitious."

Trynity looked at Duo and saw by the narrowing of his eyes that he was affected by Quatre's insult. Duo must care for Larya more than he let her know. But beyond the dangerous look in his eyes, he did not react.

"Larya is far different than Dorothy," he said after a moment. Now he looked at Trynity. "There is a patient at the clinic who needs your expertise. If you are finished, I will escort you back."

Trynity was glad for the excuse to escape. She couldn't sit another moment with Quatre. He moved off the bench to stand by Duo who also rose to his feet. For a moment it looked as if they were challenging each other, but Quatre stepped aside so that Trynity could get off the bench. He took her bag of supplies and shoved it in Duo's hands while he pulled Trynity up against him. "My invitation is always open," he said softly. His eyes met hers, and she tried to look away, but she felt powerless. Slowly and deliberately, he lowered his head and kissed her gently before releasing her. "Maybe later."

Duo didn't say anything as they left the cafe, and he remained silently brooding for most of the walk home. The sky had become cloudy, and Trynity feared the rains would come before they could reach the clinic. Duo didn't seem to care as he stared straight ahead.

Finally, unnerved by the his silence, she said, "What is the emergency at the clinic that Shamara cannot handle?"

"A miner was brought to the clinic. He was hysterical and incoherent until Stryfe gave him a sedative. Shamara put her hands on him and whatever she saw upset her greatly."

Trynity was surprised. "I have never treated Winner's miners. He has his own physician to treat them."

"This man seemed to have escaped. He looks as though he has been in the forest for many days." He paused, then said, "He is missing an arm, and he reeks of the boreworm."

Trynity shuddered. "That poor man. I had hoped that Winner was keeping his miners away from the known boreworm habitats."

"I wouldn't be so certain that is the case." A flash of lightening streaked across the sky. "Winner reeks of the boreworm also."

She sighed. "He doesn't have to 'reek of the boreworm' for you to know he is up to no good."

Thunder boomed as rain began to fall. Duo stepped off the path, and Trynity followed him to a heavily foliated tree that blocked most of the rain as they stood under its drooping branches. They waited in silence listening to the rain pattering against the wide leave before Duo finally said, "Is he your lover?"

"How can you ask such a thing?" Her fingers curled into fists and she felt tears burning her eyes.

He looked at her. "Because I want to know."

Trynity had no idea what he was thinking. Duo had become very good at hiding his feelings. "I really don't think my personal life is any of your business anymore. And if I have to answer your question, then I am very disappointed in your judgment of people."

"I had no intention of judging you." He wiped a raindrop from her cheek with his thumb. His eyes instantly mesmerized her as they met hers, but in a way far different from the sinister hypnosis that Quatre used. "I want to know who I have to kill to have you to myself."

She didn't move as he slipped his arms her and drew her up against him. He lightly kissed her lips before moving to her neck. Trynity felt as if she were floating on air, then realized he had gently lifted her and they were both descending to the wet grass.

"Am I dreaming?" she wondered aloud.

Duo laughed softly as his fingers worked the buttons to her shirt. "I don't know about you, but my dreams included a lot of sand."

She pushed her fingers into his hair and brought his head back to hers. Trynity wanted his kisses more than anything now, and he didn't disappoint her. She didn't notice when the rain stopped or when their clothing began slipping away. Unfortunately, she did hear Stryfe calling their names.

Duo didn't, so she almost had to hit him with a closed fist before he realized they were about to be intruded upon. They scrambled for the bits of clothing that had been discarded, and her hands were shaking with panic as Stryfe's calls were getting closer. Trynity felt intense frustration that they had been interrupted.

Duo pushed her fingers out of the way and finished buttoning her shirt. "Just as well," he mumbled. "I think we have finally come up with a sure-fire method of birth control. Next time we better be a little more prepared. We wouldn't want another accident."

Trynity was so shocked by his comment that she couldn't respond even as Stryfe ducked under the canopy of the tree.

"Here you are! Good place to ride out the storm." Stryfe was grinning at them. How could Duo think of Stryfe and Quynn as an 'accident?' "I went back to the village to get you, but I heard you had already left."

Trynity snatched her bag of supplies and pushed past Stryfe. "I've wasted enough time. I want to get back."

She heard Stryfe ask Duo why she was in such a bad mood, and Duo responded with a flippant, "Who can know what a woman is thinking?"

Trynity felt like crying, and a few tears actually escaped as she made her way back to the clinic with Duo and Stryfe following. Because her clothes were wet and dirty from rolling around in the grass, she went to her house first. Her father was snoring in a chair, one of the scrolls on his chest, but he jerked awake when she walked in.

"What have you been up to? Are you crying?" He followed her to her bedroom, but she slammed the door in his face. A few moments elapsed before she heard him bark, "What have you done now, Maxwell?"

Trynity ignored the knock at her door and went into her bathroom to take a shower. When she finished, she threw on a bathrobe and came out toweling her hair and was surprised to find Duo sitting on the end of her bed. "What are you doing in here?" She moved into her closet to throw around clothing. Trynity just couldn't concentrate with him in her bedroom after their earlier intimacy. After what he had said, she just couldn't look at him. What he termed an accident was the greatest joy in her life. He hadn't changed one bit except that he had become a smooth talker.

She pulled on jeans and a tee shirt, then left her closet. "I have work to do, Duo," she said without looking at him. Grabbing a lab coat that was hanging on a hook on the back of the door, she tried to leave, but Duo's voice stopped her.

"I think we should talk."

Trynity forced herself to smile and looked at him. "There's nothing to talk about. We got carried away. No harm done, right?" She pushed the door open and left him behind. Dr. Stryfe was standing in her way. "Father, will you please let me pass."

"I want some answers."

She shoved him aside and walked out, rolling her eyes. At least now she could have some peace. Her father would nag Duo so Duo couldn't pester her. Just as well. The work needed on the unconscious man at the clinic took up the remainder of the afternoon and most of the evening. Duo didn't drop by the clinic at all, so she wondered what kind of discussion he had with her father. Trynity hoped he wasn't lying knocked out somewhere in the house or that her father hadn't already buried him in the backyard.

After she had done as much as she could for the man, Trynity noticed that Shamara appeared to be deeply troubled. She sat next to the young woman. "Can you tell me about it?"

Shamara looked at her. "That poor man was almost consumed by that creature. He would never know another moment of peace in his life. Now I have his memories, and they are terrifying." She suddenly grabbed Trynity's hands, and the world around her went black for a moment before she realized she was standing in a cave.

__

"Get in there!" 

She peered through the darkness and moved forward. Trynity knew that what she was seeing wasn't real, but she felt all that man must have felt.

__

"Set the charges at the far end."

Trynity looked at the equipment in her hands, and then she heard the rumbling of an animal's growl. The man ordering her began to laugh as she stumbled further into the tunnel. There were traces of boreworm residue on the walls. She was trembling as he must have, and when she saw the shadow of the beast on the wall, she realized what was happening.

As suddenly as the vision began, it ended. Trynity looked at Shamara. "Did you see?" asked Shamara. "Did you feel what he felt? This is what I feel when I use my powers."

"He was sent in to feed the worm." The reality was incomprehensible to Trynity.

Shamara pressed her hands to her face. "I cannot believe this! How could Dagan do such a thing?"

Trynity remembered the wizard who had been brought to her clinic, the young man they now knew was Prince Dagan of Bayman. Clearly he did not want to be associated with Quatre Winner. "He must have his reasons, Shamara."

But Shamara ran from the clinic in tears, Taeron following.

Trynity was about to leave when she noticed an incoming call from L12. Thinking it was Quynn, she flipped on the viewer.

Relena's face appeared. "Trynity! Surprise, surprise, you answered!"

Although Relena tended to get on her nerves, Trynity had never had a closer friend in her life beside Duo and Lars. Without wanting to, she burst into tears before Relena could say another word. This was what Trynity missed most, having someone to pour her heart out to. Lars had always been there for her, to cheer her when she was most deeply depressed about her failures, to share in her happiness at her success. Trynity realized now that she had no one, and she ached to talk about her feelings.

When she finished, Trynity felt better although she preferred to have a hug. She wondered when she had gotten so emotional? The answer came to her like a bolt of lightening. That jerk Duo Maxwell had weaseled his way through her armor, and now she allowed everything to affect her! How could she have let him do it again?

"Seems I called at an opportune time," said Relena when she had finished.

Trynity smiled as she wiped her tears. "I'm sorry I unburdened myself on you."

"I think Duo Maxwell needs the snot kicked out of him. I think I know a few guys who might be able to get the job done."

Imagining Relena arranging a hit on Duo with underworld thugs made Trynity laugh. "I wouldn't want you to get your hands dirty. Besides, I think my father has already railed him."

"Poor ignoramus." Relena sighed, then she straightened. "I almost forgot to tell you. Heero has been given official permission to re-open the investigation into Lars' death. When my brother heard what Quynn had to say about Malik, he met with officials from the World and Space Federation. They agreed that there is suspicious activity on Mars Colony. I even heard Heero discussing the suspected harvest of an organic drug on the planet."

"I wouldn't put anything past Quatre Winner." Trynity's mind started to race as she wondered what plants were being harvested for the drug. She had already catalogued every species in the area, so the information was in her database. All she needed to do was…

"I can see you are back to work," laughed Relena. "I'll let you go to it. Quynn sends her love. She'll be disappointed to hear that progress with _Lord_ Duo isn't going well. Do you think he has turned her head with all his wealth and power?" 

Trynity shook her head. "Not Quynn. Keep me posted, Relena. If I find out anything on my end, I will inform you."

Even before the communication ended, Trynity started to pull up files from her computer. She intended to get to the bottom of this. The penalties for the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs were severe. If she could prove that Quatre was involved, he would no longer be able to terrorize Mars Colony.

Duo wasn't hungry, and neither, it seemed, was anyone else who sat around the table. Pouting, Shamara stared at her food, and Taeron seemed to have lost his appetite because he did no more than push around his meal. Stryfe wasn't pleased with the meal he had prepared, and when he saw that no one was eating, he became disheartened, especially when his mother didn't show up. He called the clinic and she informed him that she was too busy to come back to the house to eat. Dr. Stryfe announced that he wouldn't sit at a table with Duo, so he sat in the living room with the scrolls that occupied his attention. Stryfe eventually abandoned the table, leaving the Calabrians alone.

"I am tired," said Shamara. She grabbed Taeron's arm. "Let's get some sleep."

Duo raised an eyebrow as they went to the bedroom. If he didn't know better, he'd wonder if some relationship had developed between them. But Shamara's announcement had absolutely no hint of romance and she was far too naïve to pull it off anyway. And Taeron dragged his feet after her as if he'd rather be thousands of miles away. Duo wondered how Trey would feel if Taeron and Shamara suddenly discovered they had feelings for each other. He snorted in laughter at the image. Shamara and Taeron were like brother and sister. The two had grown up together along with Amyr, so it was highly unlikely Duo was going to uncover any immoral activity.

The telecom buzzed and Stryfe hurried to take the call. "Oh, it's you. I thought my mom was calling. I have supper made and she doesn't want to eat."

"I've heard about your cooking." Duo recognized Relena's voice. "She's safer at the clinic. I didn't think anyone could cook worse than her, but you have far exceeded her particular culinary talents."

"Gee, Relena, thank you for the boost to my ego." Duo caught himself smiling at Stryfe's response. "Should I transfer your call to the clinic?"

"Is Duo Maxwell there?" she asked.

Stryfe glanced at him and Duo shook his head. "Well…" He scratched his head.

"He's here!" called out Dr. Stryfe. "Trying to hide like a disobedient dog, although for the life of me I can't figure out what the lousy excuse for a man has done now to upset my daughter."

Ouch! Duo winced, but having been found out, he rose to cross the room to the telecom. "What can I do for you, Relena?"

"For starters, you can transfer this call to a more private place so I can talk to you without old man Stryfe butting in."

"Old man! Who are you calling old man, you meddling busybody?"

Stryfe pointed to the master bedroom, and as Duo left the room, he could still hear Relena and Dr. Stryfe arguing. He went to the telecom and pressed the button, but Relena waited until Stryfe had cut the communication to the other room.

Before he had a chance to speak, she exploded. "You insensitive moron! What are you doing there anyway? Why haven't you collected that foolish prince and taken him back to Calabria? Must you stay there to torture Trynity?"

Duo raised his brows. "I can't leave until I have secured the prince. Winner claims that his wizard was killed in an explosion." Then he added, "I didn't think I was torturing Trynity."

"He's lying! So what are you doing about it?" Relena glared at him. "Your very presence is enough, you jerk!"

"I can't do anything until I can determine where he is. I'm beginning to think that Quatre doesn't know." Duo frowned. "I was hoping she wanted me to return."

"I didn't call to talk about your petty Calabrian problems."

Petty? The honor of the Calabrian imperial household was at stake! Duo didn't consider that petty.

"I talked to Trynity today." Duo couldn't imagine what Trynity told her. How personal were their discussions? "How could you refer to her children as an 'accident?" Well his question was answered. She must have told her everything.

"What was I supposed to say?" he defended himself. "I just wanted to point out that in the heat of the moment…"

"You didn't seem to care seventeen years ago!"

Duo wanted to cut the communication, yet at the same time he realized Relena knew Trynity's mind better than anyone at this moment. "I was thinking of her."

"Why did you really come back?" demanded Relena.

"I came back for her! As usual, Shamara is underfoot. I love that girl, but I wish she would get herself married with children of her own so that I can have a life."

Relena's angry expression faded. "You came back for Trynity?"

"How could she think otherwise?" But Duo knew the answer. His own fear that she might reject him in favor of staying on Mars kept him from committing to her. How was Trynity supposed to guess his intentions? Duo was accustomed to Guerani women who knew his every thought. But he couldn't completely commit to Trynity either when he knew that could not give up the life he had made on Calabria. Trey depended on him, and Duo couldn't imagine leaving the moon and his people behind. Without wanting to, he explained this to Relena, and he was surprised that she listened with a sympathetic ear.

"All right," she said when he had concluded. "I will concede that you have a point. Trynity doesn't want to give up that useless clinic on Mars Colony. With the problems that exist there and the lack of order, no physician will even consider going there, so she feels responsible for the health and well being of the people. Lord knows they don't deserve her, but she seems to be oblivious to their selfishness."

"That is not a problem we are going to solve," commented Duo as Relena drummed her fingers as if trying to think of a solution.

"The easiest method would be for you to do to Quatre Winner what your son did to his son." Relena laughed. "I can see by the look on your face that you wouldn't want to do that."

"I'm not a cold-blooded killer, and neither is my son. I doubt I could bring myself to kill him unless he provokes me. We went through too much together when we were young."

"That is ancient history," said Relena. "Very ancient. Do you think he cares? He would cut your throat at the drop of a hat! He's probably planning how to do it as we speak. I hope you are prepared to defend yourself. He's a ruthless bastard that ordered his son to kill Lars and I have every reason to believe he arranged Dorothy's death."

"I have dealt with such people on Calabria."

"Probably not like him. Anyway, you owe Trynity an apology, but you can't apologize to her without her knowing I called you. She would be furious with me if she knew I was speaking to you now. You don't seem to realize how lonely she is and how confused you have made her. In addition, you dolt, Trynity loves children."

"Then why doesn't she have more?" Duo thought that because Trynity didn't have more children than Stryfe and Quynn that she didn't care to go through the experience again. If that weren't true… "Lars didn't want more kids?" Duo remembered the pictures of Lars with Stryfe and Quynn and couldn't believe that. In fact, seeing those pictures made Duo draw what he had considered a logical conclusion about Trynity.

"Don't be obtuse! They tried to have more children, but it never happened, probably because of the blast he took from the Shadowhawk. And Trynity wouldn't consider any other alternative. Now you come along and…"

"Hey, I get the picture!" Duo didn't want to get the picture. Once again he had been overly insensitive to Trynity's feelings. He was getting pretty good at it. "I guess I had better have a talk with the good doctor."

"Don't mention me!" Relena closed the communication after her sharply delivered warning.

Duo left the room and stopped by the bedroom he shared with Shamara and Taeron. They appeared to be arguing, but stopped immediately when he poked his head in. "Don't wait up for me."

Shamara smiled. "I hope the gods visit great happiness upon you this evening."

Duo returned her smile. "Thank you for your blessing."

"My lord!" blurted Taeron as he came to him. "I must speak to you."

Duo feared that his son still harbored hopes that his parents would marry and he felt threatened by Trynity. He didn't care to discuss the improbability of such a match now with Taeron.

Shamara hurried forward to grab his arm. "Taeron, let him go!" They exchanged glances and Taeron looked down at his own feet.

"We can talk in the morning," Duo suggested, and when Taeron didn't respond, he shrugged and walked out. Whatever was going on between the two, he intended to find out, but it would have to be in the morning. Trynity was his main concern now.

The outer office of the clinic was dark, and the lab had only a few lights. The miner was resting comfortably, probably doped up for his pain. Shamara admitted to stealing his memories, but Duo's concern was for her. He doubted the man would regret the loss of that episode in his mind.

Trynity was at her computer, but as Duo approached, he saw that she was dozing, her chin on her hands, her head resting against the screen. Duo looked at the screen and was mildly amused to see a familiar green-clad elf standing around, shifting from one foot another, scratching his head, and swiping his sword.

Duo slipped an arm around her waist, and she became groggily awake. "Babe, if you don't do something with Link, he's going to pass out and get eaten by a monster."

She blinked her eyes, then looked at the screen. Duo smiled to see her embarrassed blush. "I…I must have bumped some keys. I don't know how that got on the screen." But she quickly saved the game and closed out the screen.

Trynity didn't seem to realize how close he was to her or that she was actually cuddled in his arms. Duo liked it this way because it seemed so natural. "I received some interesting news from Relena today," she commented.

"So did I." To hell with Relena.

The blush that hadn't quite faded from her cheeks became deeper. "She…she didn't…"

"Hey, she can't keep anything secret. Correction, she can keep some things secret, but I guess your mistake has taught her to be a blabbermouth." He brushed back her wild orange curls and caressed her cheek.

There were tears in Trynity's eyes. "She should have kept her big mouth shut."

"I'm sorry, Trynity, for all the stupid things I've said and done." He framed her face in his hands. "I didn't come back here for Shamara's sake. That sweet little imp thinks she is defying her father to come here with me, but I had already planned to return and Trey told me to let her tag along."

"You didn't come here for her?" asked Trynity. He could see that she was vulnerable, as vulnerable as the first time he had kissed her under the moon at the conservatory before the Stardust Ball. She was afraid to expose her feelings.

"I won't spend the rest of my life without you, Trynity. I thank the gods for giving me another chance."

A tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't think your mythical Calabrian gods caused the wormhole to open."

He lowered his head to kiss away her salty tear. "I believe," he murmured as he kissed a trail to her lips, "in the fairness of the gods. After talking with Relena, I am even more a believer. When Lars saved my life, they took from him, and they gave back what they had taken when I was trapped on Calabria." He kissed her quivering bottom lip and buried his fingers in her hair. 

"Coincidence," she said, but there was a catch to her voice. Trynity was crying, and he had to control his own emotions.

"You have to believe, Trynity."

She shook her head.

He laughed softly and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Tell me why the wormhole opened near L12 and Mars Colony and not back at L10." 

"I don't know, but I know it wasn't for me!" She sobbed and threw her arms around him as she buried her face in his shoulder. "They have never given me a break! I keep wondering what bad thing will happen to me next!"

Duo held her close and let her cry. When she was finally reduced to hiccups, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped her face. "You aren't alone, Trynity. I'll always be with you."

"I wish I could believe you."

He tried not to be hurt because he knew she had no reason to trust him. "You are tired. Link must have been giving you a hard time."

She straightened and stiffened. "I wasn't playing! Well, not most of the time. I gave up on my original project."

"What might that project have been?" Duo looked at her screen and saw that it was filled with chemical equations. "I hope you understand that language."

She laughed and swung away to look at it. "I have analyzed much of the plant life on this colony, mostly for medicinal purposes. Although I have found a few plants that might give a guy a slight buzz, but I found nothing that would get Quatre Winner arrested and locked away for the rest of his life."

"What are you talking about?" Duo pulled up a stool to sit beside her. "Is Quatre dealing drugs from Mars?" He chuckled as he imagined it. "The guy is a jerk, but dealing drugs? He drinks tea!"

"Relena heard Heero mention it." Trynity pushed back her hair and looked down at her hands in her lap. "Relena has a big mouth."

He took her hands and entwined his fingers with hers. "She cares about you, Trynity. I appreciate the big kick in the ass she gave me."

Trynity smiled and looked at his face. "I hope you don't think I'm like Larya, but…but I'd like to have more children."

"My palace is big enough to accommodate as many as you want."

The smile faded from her face. "I couldn't leave my patients."

Relena was right, but Duo already knew about this obstacle so he could laugh it off. "Well, you could visit our children from time to time."

She frowned. "I'm serious!"

He pulled her resisting onto his lap. "You always are, babe. That's something we need to change." She didn't avoid his kiss, but instead returned it with enthusiasm. A groan from the other side of the room made her break away, and he followed her to the patient. After checking his pulse, she injected him with more sedative, then went about changing the bandage on the stump that was his arm.

"Fortunately there are prosthetics that are so highly advanced that he may have more strength with a new arm," she commented, then sighed. "I imagine it wouldn't be the same." Trynity shuddered. "Thanks to Shamara I have an idea of the terror he felt to be sent to his death in the jaws of that grotesque beast."

Duo frowned. "Shamara touched you?"

"I think she was trying to help me understand the poor man. I don't know what was happening in the mine because I don't think he knew. But he was under the impression he was being fed to the worm." Trynity made a sound of disgust. "I pray it is not customary behavior in the mines."

"That may explain why the miners do not return to their homes," suggested Duo.

Trynity looked at him. "You can't be serious, Duo. What kind of man would do such a thing?"

"Oh, I don't know. The kind of man whose son was a blood-drinking bastard?"

"Why would Quatre do such a thing?"

Duo had his suspicions. "Where do these boreworms live?"

"I believe various underground habitats scattered throughout the livable areas of the colony. They usually consume small animals, but from time to time I have heard of children and the occasional adult killed by one. But those instances are rare and only occur when humans stumble into their territory."

Duo raised a brow. "What, exactly, is Winner mining on this colony?"

She shrugged. "Various minerals. I have never concerned myself with his activities except as how they affect my patients."

"You said yourself that Winner has his own physician to care for the miners, and yet Relena told me that you are the only one on the colony."

"What are you implying?"

Duo didn't like her tone. Was she trying to defend Quatre Winner? After seeing him paw her at the cafe, Duo was wondering what their exact relationship was. Although it disgusted him, there was the possibility that she had turned to Quatre after her husband's death. Perhaps she had ended their relationship and Quatre didn't want to let go. Was that why she seemed to not want to recognize the truth about him?

She walked away from the patient who had fallen back into an untroubled slumber. Duo followed her out of the clinic, but she stopped at the door. "I can't leave him alone, but I think you should return to the house. Tell Stryfe to relieve me in a few hours."

Before he could question her sudden change of attitude, she disappeared into the clinic. Duo knew she was going to be stubborn, so he returned to the house where Stryfe and his grandfather were studying the scrolls.

"That was a short trip," grunted the older man. "Maybe my daughter has developed some sense concerning you after all."

Stryfe smiled. "Mom chased you off? She gets rather testy about her more serious patients."

Duo sat near them. "She wants you to relieve her in a few hours."

"I suppose I should get a little sleep. Can I trust you two alone?"

"Don't worry. She's too busy for me to give her another patient tonight," grunted Dr. Stryfe. "Besides, I'd just be playing right into their hands."

Duo smiled and Stryfe laughed as he walked out.

Dr. Stryfe set aside the scrolls and leaned toward Duo who crushed the urge to throw up protective hands. "So, what progress have you made?"

Duo's eyes widened. "Just how do you expect me to answer that question?"

"You're going to have to give her a damn good reason to give up this worthless clinic," pointed out the other man.

"I love her. Isn't that reason enough."

"Wasn't reason enough to stay by her side, was it?"

"I didn't intend…"

Dr. Stryfe waved him quiet. "We all know what you didn't intend. I want that girl to be happy. If you aren't going to bring that about, then get the hell out of her life."

"All I have ever wanted is to make her happy. Maybe I haven't gone about it the right way, but this time around I have every intention of succeeding. Maybe I'd like to grab a little bit of that happiness myself."

Dr. Stryfe chuckled and slapped him on the back. "At least you're honest. So what is your plan?"

"I have no plan. The gods will provide a way…" Duo was affronted when the older man gave him a look of disgust. "You and your daughter have a lot to learn about respecting the gods."

"Please don't start with that religious hogwash. Don't rely on things you can't see."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Stryfe, if you cannot believe in a higher order, but I do. I have seen it with my own eyes. The gods brought me here with Shamara so that we could both meet our destiny, whatever that may be."

He stared at Duo silently for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, your gods might be helped out in fulfilling your destiny by you drugging Trynity and carrying her off to Calabria."

"She would not like that." Duo might, but Trynity would be furious.

"Oh, she'd kick and scream for a few days…"

"Try weeks if not months," Duo interrupted him. "She's more stubborn than you think."

"You're right. Such a plan could only end in disaster. Is there any chance of you staying here?"

"I govern thousands of people. When a faction of discontented imperials learned of my departure and Prince Amyr's installment as my replacement, they began rioting in the provinces. They accept me because I am not Calabrian and because I have proven myself strong enough to control them."

Dr. Stryfe frowned. "This is the place you would take my daughter?"

"I think they would readily accept her as my wife."

"Your people have a say in this?" Dr. Stryfe slapped his forehead. "I guess we will have to rely on the gods because I think only a supernatural being could get you out of this mess."

"Don't get me wrong, sir. I don't give a damn what my people say about her, but it would smooth out the wrinkles a bit if they liked her." Duo decided to change the subject. He didn't think planning to abduct Trynity was a proper conversation to have with her father. "Have you and Stryfe made any more progress on deciphering the texts?"

"We are quite decided on the text in the cave. It is a curse on the sacred shield. I imagine that Calabrian scholar was superstitious about his gods and what that message meant for the princess. Stryfe and I have gone on to more interesting legends, one in particular interests him."

"I suppose it's the legend of Camridaeus. We heard the legend from Master Nazzar, Prince Dagan's teacher."

"But Master Nazzar left out some details and most importantly, what appears to be a cliff-hanging end to the tale. Dagmaeus apparently killed both Camrin and Ulfyna, then fled the palace. There is some record of pursuit and a reference to a beam of light taking him to the heavens. That business about Dagmaeus becoming god of the beasts and the underworld was not mentioned once."

"Do you think Nazzar was lying?"

Dr. Stryfe shrugged. "The tale is very ancient. It is possible that it has been changed many times. I have been able to determine that the Guerani people truly believe that their bodies are hosts to the spirits or essences of the gods, though only a select few seem to have been so honored."

"You believe Dagan is one of those people?"

The older man snorted derisively. "You actually believe this, don't you?"

"Do you think I could have lived all these years away from the woman I love without finding solace in something?" Duo doubted Dr. Stryfe could understand. "What is the business about the sacred shield?"

"There is a prophecy that the sacred shield exists to protect the people of the binary system from some great cataclysm, some great evil. Perhaps the princess can shed some light on that subject."

"Are you suggesting that Shamara is the key to this riddle of the gods?"

Dr. Stryfe snorted. "If you believe in that sort of thing, I suppose that is exactly what I mean."

Duo's thoughts were troubled as he left Dr. Stryfe and walked to his own room. Tomorrow he would talk to Shamara about what he had learned so see if she knew anything. He suspected there were events unfolding in her trances that she wasn't talking about and he hoped she wasn't getting in over her head.

He quietly pushed open the door to their room and he instantly realized that Taeron was gone or he would have challenged him. Then Duo noticed the bed was empty and hadn't been slept in.

"Shamara, what are you up to?" he muttered out loud.


	22. An undignified rescue

****

Winner Mansion, Mars Colony 

"Princess, this is not a good idea."

"Shut up, Taeron, and give me a boost. If I stand on your shoulders I might be able to reach the window above us."

"We should have told Lord Duo or at least left him a message."

Shamara put her hands on her hips and glared at Taeron although it was hard to see in the dim light given off from the sad little moons above them. "Listen up, Taeron. You are my imperial guard, not my imperial conscience. Your duty is to follow and protect me, not to natter and nag me."

He laced his fingers to form a stirrup. "I doubt this is part of my duty."

She slipped her foot into his handhold and intended to climb up to his shoulders, but Taeron boosted her in the air, and Shamara lost her balance immediately, falling back down on top of him. They both tumbled to the ground.

"Did you hear something?" The voice came from around the corner. The guards had been alerted by the noise they made.

Taeron grabbed her arm and dragged her into the bushes just as two hefty men turned the corner and flashed a light. Shamara didn't dare so much as draw a breath.

"Just an animal," commented one of the men. "You thirsty? I filched a little whiskey from the boss' supply when he was gone today."

Shamara watched as they passed a flask between them, then as they laughed as they wiped their mouths with the backs of their hands. Taeron didn't move, so neither did she, but she was getting cramped in the position she was caught in. 

"Do you have any sauce?"

"Just the whiskey. Boss keeps the sauce locked up tight. Since the boreworm population has taken a nose-dive, he's guarding it like precious metal." 

"I have a little weed." The two put something in their mouths and Shamara saw a small flame before smoke began to puff out of their mouths.

"What are they doing?" she whispered to Taeron.

"I do not know. It is very strange."

"Nothing over here. There's a few women down by the barracks," remarked one.

"Then what are we wasting time over here for?"

They tossed down the things that were creating the smoke then shuffled away. Shamara and Taeron left their hiding place and returned to the spot under the window. Shamara picked up the two still smoking objects. They appeared to be rolled up dried leaves. She sniffed the smoke curling up from the lighted end. For a moment everything became blurry. Taeron picked one up and put it in his mouth as they had seen the men do and breathed in.

Shamara watched him to see what would happen. He winced, then coughed. "Most unpleasant," he announced.

"They seemed to enjoy it."

He breathed in from the object again, this time deeply. For a moment he stared straight ahead, his eyes wide, then he shook his head. "Come, princess, let's get this business out of the way."

She thought his voice sounded strange, but at least now he wasn't complaining about her plan to help Dagan escape. Extinguishing the end of the small, rolled up bundle of leaves, she stuffed it into her belt, then waited for Taeron to cup his hands again. He was still puffing on what the men had called "weed," but he bent over to help her mount, then boosted her high. She was prepared this time, so when she catapulted in the air, she grabbed the windowsill. She dangled precariously for a moment before she managed to find an adequate hold, then she began to work at the lock on the window with her dagger.

"By the gods, princess, you look most amusing!"

Shamara glared over her shoulder at Taeron who was laughing silently and pointing at her as he stared up at her, slightly swaying. "Quiet, fool! Do you want to alert the guards?"

He drew his sword and waved it around. "I'm ready to take them all!"

She worked desperately at the lock, and when it finally clicked open, she pushed open the window and scrambled inside the dark room. Fortunately it was a bedroom, so she grabbed a sheet and hung it out the window for Taeron. "Hurry!"

He started up the sheet, then slipped back down. Trying again, he made it halfway, then slid down so fast that he landed on his backside and she heard him curse, then giggle. Taeron was giggling?

"What is wrong with you?" she hissed. "What kind of imperial guard are you anyway? Get up here!"

Taeron was snorting with ill-suppressed laughter as he began climbing again. Shamara hung on tightly to the sheet as he ascended further, but suddenly he slipped again. This time he caught back onto the sheet and began to swing back and forth.

"Taeron!" she urged. "Get up here!" She was having difficulty holding the sheet as he swung, then she realized he was doing it on purpose.

"This is fun! You should try it, princess. Come on down!"

"You buffoon! If I come down who will hold it? Get up here now! By the gods, I will tell my father what a worthless guard you are and…"

He shimmied up the sheet rope so fast that he flew through the window and landed on the floor with a thump. "Ouch! My head! This room is very strange! It is upside down!"

Shamara dropped the sheet, grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him up from the floor. "Is that better?"

He blew out smoke in her face, then coughed. "You should try this, princess."

She moved past him to the door, and opening it, she peeked out to see guards in the hall. She closed the door, then slid down to sitting against it. "If we wait, they may become sleepy."

"I'm becoming sleepy." Taeron crawled to her and laid his head on her lap.

Shamara took the thing from his mouth. "You are going to burn me." Staring at it for moment, she decided to try what Taeron had done. When the smoke filled her lungs, she began coughing, but only a moment passed before she felt a sense of calm. "This is nice." 

She breathed in more of the smoke, then noticed it was becoming too small to hold. She pulled out the one from her belt and lit it on the burning stub. For several moments she smoked, sharing with Taeron who was singing incoherently, but at least softly. Shamara was feeling light-headed, but she was comfortable and feeling quite euphoric.

There was suddenly muffled laughter in the hall, and Shamara pushed Taeron away and opened the door. Although she was finding it difficult to focus – the room was tilting oddly – she did see the guards tugging a woman between them. She was giggling, so Shamara didn't see any reason to save her. They were grabbing and touching her in places that made Shamara's face heat up, so she quickly closed the door.

"You look!" she ordered Taeron. "Tell me if they have gone." She grabbed the weed from his mouth and took a smoke. That seemed to clear her head.

Taeron peeked out the cracked open door. "My, my, my! You shouldn't be watching something like that, princess."

"I know that!" she snapped, then tried to move him out of the way. Shamara was suddenly very curious.

Taeron pushed her back without taking his eyes off the scene. "Princess, you are in the way!"

She smacked his back. "Let me see!" There were very strange sounds coming from the hall. She managed to wriggle in close and caught a glimpse of what was going on. She gasped and shoved the door shut. "You should not watch that, Taeron!"

He glared at her but did not argue, and after a few moments, he opened the door again and announced, "They are gone."

"Good! Such things should be done in private." She stumbled into the hall, Taeron behind her.

"Where are we going, princess?"

She turned to look at him. "You've been here before! You lead the way!"

"I will lead the way back to the healer's clinic!" He started back into the room, but she grabbed his ponytail and jerked him to her.

"Let's try this way." Her legs wobbled strangely as she walked, and she could hear Taeron stumbling behind her.

The hallways were dark and quiet, and once they had to avoid the guards again, but Quatre Winner's men didn't seem to take their duties seriously. There were no guarded rooms, so they moved down a floor, and this time there was a guard standing at a door at the end of the hall.

"That must be it," she whispered to Taeron.

"Let me handle this."

"Don't be an idiot! He will recognize you!" Shamara thought her voice sounded a bit slurred. "I have an idea. Wait here. You will know what to do, and when to do it."

"Guerani magic?" 

"No, brains, if you have any!" Shamara was starting to feel quite warm and just a little giddy. It was a very pleasant feeling, almost like she felt when she was in Dagan's arms. She sighed and smiled. Dagan. She was going to save Dagan and he was going to be very grateful. She wasn't exactly sure what she would make him do to show his gratitude, but she would think of something. Taeron might have some ideas.

"Might I act now?" asked Taeron impatiently.

She looked at him and was mildly surprised to see two of her imperial guard. "Taerons! Settle down. I haven't done anything yet. You and you stay here." Shamara thought about the woman she had seen enticing the men in the hall, then reached down to loosen her garment. She pushed the edges over her shoulder and was arranging it to show as much as she could when she heard Taeron making strange noises. She caught him looking at her chest and turned quickly away from him. "You are both very naughty!"

"Princess, you are going to get into trouble!" He tried to push her garment back together, but she shoved him away and stumbled into the hall. Taeron was forced to hide around the corner or be discovered.

Taking a deep breath, Shamara walked to the guard, swinging her hips as she had seen that woman do. He turned his head to watch her, relaxing his stance when he thought she posed no threat.

"Well, well, isn't this my lucky night," he said as she came to stand before him. "What can I do for you?"

Shamara didn't care for the look in his eyes or the way he was licking his lips as he stared. "I was wondering…" She wasn't sure what she should say.

"Need a little sauce, sweet thing?" He grabbed a handful of her backside and pulled her against him. From inside his filthy jacket he pulled a small tube that emitted such a stench that Shamara gagged. He held the vile 'sauce' to her lips, but she shook her head while holding her breath. "Have it your way!" He swallowed the contents, then tossed the tube over his shoulder.

Having an idea, she blurted, "Do you have any weed?"

"Plenty. But it will cost you." The look on his face as he scanned her body told her how it was going to cost her. "Why don't we smoke a little together? The room's empty for now."

"Empty! But I thought…"

"Wanted to see the wizard, eh? He ain't here. Boss has him locked up in the basement until those aliens leave. Convenient for the boss because he can do as he pleases with the wizard's woman." He pulled out one of those rolled up sticks of dried leaves, then produced a flame from some object. He puffed on it for a moment, then handed it to her.

Feeling rather pleased with her expertise, she took it and put it to her lips. As she was breathing in the smoke, the guard suddenly shoved her against the wall and he seemed to have grown dozens of hands and a huge, sloppy mouth. Shamara was certain a monster had sprung from his body, and looking at his face, she saw four eyes and two mouths.

Suddenly the two Taerons were dashing down the hall, raising two enormous fists to beat off the monster. It fell to the floor quivering until the Taerons kicked it still.

"Are you all right, princess?" When she nodded, they grabbed the leaf stick from her mouth and popped it in their mouths. "Is he inside?"

"In the basement," she said.

"You did well," he commented as he knelt to examine the items the guard was carrying. He picked out a vial of the 'sauce' and winced. "What is this?"

"I do not know. I think it transformed him into a monster." Shamara's eyes were watery from the smoke Taeron was creating. "Do you mind?" She held out her hand, then smoked some of the weed herself. 

Taeron shoved the vial into a pouch he had hidden in his clothing. "The healer may be interested in this."

"She is only interested in Lord Duo." Shamara giggled.

Taeron chuckled as he continued searching. "Aha!" He produced several more weed sticks. Shamara grabbed a couple and put them in her belt as he squirreled away his own. The one they were sharing was almost gone. Shamara noticed that the lights were fuzzy and the floors were tilted more than they were when they had entered the hall.

"This is a trap!" she warned Taeron. "We had better get out of here!"

They both stumbled down the hall to a wide staircase. Taeron almost fell, but Shamara caught him. "By the gods! I almost fell off that cliff!"

Shamara tilted her head to look at the spiral staircase that seemed to go on forever before it disappeared into nothingness. "Does it lead to the basement?"

"I'm not sure!" Taeron scratched his head. "I…I don't remember this. It is an illusion! Yes, an illusion!" Before Shamara could react, Taeron pushed off her steadying hand and leaped into the void.

She heard the muffled sounds of tumbling and Taeron swearing, but instead of leaping, she hurried down the steps until she lost her footing and tumbled downward. The endless staircase actually had an end. She landed on top of Taeron at the feet of several guards.

"What have we here?" asked one in a mocking tone of voice as he nudged Taeron with his booted foot. "That alien murderer? Boss is going to reward me mighty generously when I hand him over."

He reached down to grab Taeron who seemed to be groggy from his fall, but Shamara leaped at him and sank her teeth into his hand. The other men laughed as tried to pull her off despite her determination that he wouldn't hurt her imperial guard. But her hair was grabbed from the back and another man jerked her away.

"I'm bleeding! The bitch made me bleed. You'll pay for that!" He raised his bleeding hand to slap her, but suddenly it was flying through the air behind him and his bloody stump waved in front of her face. Shamara wasn't exactly sure what was happening then because she saw several Taerons swinging swords and blood splattering everywhere. When they were done, they grabbed Shamara's arm and dragged her through the carnage. They ran down a dark corridor at the end of which was a locked door. The Taerons grabbed a dagger and worked the lock a moment before it sprang and they were able to duck through the door and shut it before the alarm was being shouted.

"You made a mess," she commented.

"Maybe you would rather I let them do what they were planning."

"Shut up and lead the way."

They tried to descend the steep staircase carefully, but Shamara lost her footing and they tumbled again. This time Taeron fell on top of her and she was about to shove him off when she realized there were guns pointing at them.

"Welcome back, alien. I see you've brought some entertainment for us." One of the men dragged her off Taeron and shoved her to another who spun her around and shoved her to another. Shamara was getting dizzy, and she heard her clothing ripping.

Other men were beating every Taeron, and she tried to break away to go to them, but her captors held her back tightly. They were laughing as they tore at her clothes and shoved her back and forth, grabbing her and slapping her.

A cold wind suddenly ran through the room, and a door slammed open. The man, who had been holding her, dropped Shamara and stumbled back. Shamara raised her head so see a man approaching, his cape whipping around him as flames burned behind him. She thought for a moment that it was the man in the cave, but as he came closer, she realized it was Dagan.

"The wizard! He has escaped!" The men tried to scramble up the stairs, but suddenly the steps were coated with ice. They slid backwards where the Taerons stood waiting with their swords.

By the time Dagan arrived in the room, there was a bloody mess. He folded his arms over his chest and sighed as Taeron dropped to the floor with his back to Shamara, and pulled out what appeared to be a small stick.

"A little magic, princess, if you please," he said as he put the stick before her.

She snapped her fingers and a spark lit the thing, which he put in his mouth and created smoke. Dagan was annoyed to see Shamara do the same thing with one of her own. They were completely oblivious to his presence.

"What are you doing here?" he finally demanded when it was obvious they were too intent on their strange activity.

"Oh! Hello, Dagan!" Shamara smiled at him, her eyes crossing.

"We are here," started Taeron before puffing on his stick. "To rescue you, Prince Dagan."

"How many men did you kill on your way down here?" asked Dagan with annoyance.

"I believe eight."

"Sixteen," corrected Shamara. "Both Taerons did an admirable job." She patted his back. "Well done, Taerons."

"Thank you, princess. You were very clever yourself."

Dagan stared at them silently. Of course he had seen Winner's men smoking their weeds, and he had even tried it himself and found that it did not affect him. Seeing their silly behavior, Dagan concluded their human blood was responsible for their susceptibility to its effects.

"Did you do that little trick with the ice?" asked Taeron. "It provided me with an excellent distraction."

"I'm glad I could be of help. How were you planning to escape?"

"What's wrong with the way we came in?" asked Shamara defensively.

"I'm sure the floors might be a bit slippery," commented Dagan thinking of the carnage her imperial guard had wrought. How was he going to get these two out of Winner's mansion? He wondered if they could even walk.

Shamara swayed and almost stumbled as she stood. "Taeron and I have a plan!"

"We do?" Taeron pulled himself up using Shamara's belt and almost dragging her back to the floor.

"Of course!" Dagan watched with no comment as she pranced around in a circle looking very much like the filthy women who inhabited Winner's home.

"I don't think I want my future wife cavorting with these men."

"Ha! I have already cavorted!"

Taeron snorted with laughter.

Dagan looked around the room, ignoring the Calabrian fools as he considered their options. In order to escape, he would have to use his powers, and he doubted very much that Shamara would be able to use hers in the state she was in.

"You two get behind me."

Taeron picked up his sword, but instead of ducking behind him as Dagan wished, he dashed up the slippery staircase shouting Shamara's name, then crashed through the door at the top before disappearing. He listened to gunshots, glancing at Shamara to see that she was smiling stupidly. Did she realize the danger her imperial guard was in? Annoyed, he grabbed her around the waist and hefted her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" She pounded on his back. "I can walk on my own!"

He smacked her backside. "Your father has much to answer for in the way you were raised, princess!"

The gunfire ceased and Dagan began to summon his powers. He regretted that her imperial guard was killed in an episode of stupid bravery. The young man should have waited until…

The door at the top of the steps opened and Taeron's head appeared. "Hurry! I am sure they are sending for reinforcements."

Shamara pounded Dagan's back. "Hurry, you fool! And put me down!"

Dagan put her down and she hurried up the steps. He followed, marveling at her agility. Calabrians were well trained, it seemed. By now he should have been prepared for what he might see, but the number of dead and dying men amazed him. "Are you sure you are not a god?" he asked Taeron.

Taeron shrugged and breathed in more smoke from his burning weed.

"This way!" Shamara was already disappearing down a corridor. Dagan thought the odds of them being captured and killed were very good despite Taeron's remarkable skills and his own powers. He was not familiar with this wing of Winner's mansion. What guards must have been there were most likely lying dead already. From the sumptuous appearance of the walls and carpet, Dagan assumed this was the private living area of the boss himself. The corridor was long, the wall on both sides decorated with all manner of weaponry. Dagan already knew that Winner considered himself a martial artist, skilled in many physical forms of fighting, but if he could use the weapons on display, Dagan would be truly impressed.

Shamara and Taeron disappeared into a room, and Dagan was about to follow when he heard voices coming from another room. He thought he recognized a female voice, and the one that responded belonged to Oxana. Dagan started toward it, but his arm was grabbed and Taeron pulled him into the vacant room. Shamara was already waiting outside, ducked beneath the window, so Dagan hopped out followed by Taeron. He had a difficult time keeping up with them as they fled into the night. When they finally came to a stop deep in the dark forest between the mansion and the healer's clinic, Dagan thought his burning lungs were going to explode. While he panted heavily to catch his breath, they laughed and lit up more weed.

He dropped to the ground beside them, batting away the smoke from their ridiculous activity. Dagan was finding it difficult to breathe. They were talking and laughing about their adventure as if it were over. Dagan wanted to knock their heads together. He didn't particularly care for what he was hearing about their escapade. Noticing that her clothing was gaping open, he reached over to pull the edges together and tighten her belt.

She slapped at his hands. "What do you think you are doing?"

The bloodied tip of a sword was suddenly in front of his face. "My lord prince, I will have to ask you to get your hands off my princess. You are not yet wed."

Dagan looked at Taeron, who appeared to be serious, and then Taeron glanced at Shamara and the two burst into laughter. Taeron's sword seemed to vanish. Where did he put it?

"We had best get moving again." Dagan stood.

"Just a moment." Taeron looked at Shamara. "Watch!" He drew in a very long breath that made the weed stick burn down to the end. After a moment, he blew out the smoke and proceeded to fall flat on his back. "I see Calabria in the sky!"

Shamara finished her own weed stick in a similar fashion, but she fell forward on Dagan. "I'm getting a little tired of rescuing you, my lord prince." Her arms were around his neck and her fingers were running through his hair.

"I can see my home on the first moon!" exclaimed Taeron.

Dagan shook his head sadly. He was going to have to get these two back to the clinic. "May I carry you now, princess?"

She wriggled onto his lap. "I would like nothing better!"

He smiled as he lifted her in his arms and stood. He nudged Taeron with his foot. "Come along, imperial guard. We might just make it before sunrise." This time Dagan set the pace, and it was, of necessity, slow because Taeron chose to crawl on all fours. From time to time he offered Shamara something to eat. Dagan didn't even want to see what he was finding on the ground.

As he predicted, they arrived at the clinic when the sun was rising. Lord Duo was waiting on the steps to the healer's home, and he approached them with brows raised. "Is anyone hurt?"

Dr. Nelson came out of the house and went to Taeron who was covered with dried blood. Shamara was also bloody, but neither had extensive wounds. 

"Lord Duo, I have rescued the prince," proclaimed Taeron.

"I did some rescuing too," complained Shamara, giving him a shove.

Duo watched them shove each other for a moment, then looked at the healer. "Any prognosis?"

She fished a weed stick from Shamara's belt. "High as kites, I'd say."

"My lord!" exclaimed Taeron, digging out his own supply. "This is truly a wondrous herb!"

Duo snatched them from his hand, and grabbed Shamara's from her. "I think you have had quite enough," he scolded as he tucked them in his own pocket. "Trust me, you are going to regret your little experimentation in a few hours."

"You had better let them sleep it off before you leave for Calabria," suggested the healer.

Lord Duo seemed irritated. Dagan could understand his desire to leave this dread Mars Colony behind for good and the delay must annoy him.

"My lord," spoke up Dagan. "I am grateful for the assistance of the princess and her imperial guard, but I cannot leave yet."

"What is the problem now?" demanded Duo. He grabbed Dagan's arm and marched him away from the smaller group. When they could not be overheard, he said, "I hope your problem takes a few days, because my work here is not done."

"Did you not come here to take me back?" Dagan was somewhat confused.

"Hardly! I came to get that beautiful red-haired healer and take her home as my wife."

Dagan glanced back at the doctor who was wiping at one of Taeron's cuts. "A good choice, my lord. I have heard nothing but praise for her. She is the worthy wife of a Calabrian governor."

"Now what is so important that you cannot leave? And don't tell me you have to rescue your concubine." Duo was glaring at him, waiting for an answer.

Dagan hung his head in shame. "She…she isn't my concubine anymore. I misjudged her."

Duo grunted. "Then what is the hold up?"

Feeling even more ashamed, he explained to Duo his need to help the poor wretches who were being fed to the boreworms. "I managed to kill eight of them before Winner locked me away. According to what I have heard, there are about two left and they may be protecting another nest."

The other man stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then he signaled to the doctor to join them. She was already holding in her hands a vial of the boreworm residue. Duo wrinkled his nose in disgust when she held it up.

"I suspect this is the drug," she stated.

"When the boreworms feed, they excrete that substance," explained Dagan. "Once they have finished, Winner's men go into the tunnels to collect it."

She stared at him in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that he sends men and women into the mines to initiate the process?"

"Only the men. The women are needed for breeding purposes."

"I don't believe it! I can't believe it! This is far too wicked, even for Quatre Winner!" She stomped as she walked away.

Duo watched her disappear into her clinic, then looked at Dagan. "Will you be in danger if you return now?"

"I won't be returning. I know where Magnar is taking his latest harvest. I will follow him and if the gods grant me favor, I will be able to save the men and rid this colony of those vile creatures, both human and beast."

"Come with me before you leave. I need you to repeat this story to the governor of L12."

"I know many of Quatre Winner's secrets," said Dagan as they walked to the house. He noticed a young man vaguely resembling Lord Duo helping Taeron and an older man trying to lift Shamara. Dagan hurried to relieve him and he carried Shamara into the house. 

"Like father, like daughter," chuckled the older man who followed them in. "Say, Maxwell, are you taking some of that weed back to Trey?"

The Calabrian lord laughed in response.

Shamara looked over Dagan's shoulder. "You mean my father already knows about this?"

Both Duo and the older man laughed again. "They are still finding some of his stashes around the academy."

Dagan carried Shamara to the room Duo pointed out and laid her gently on the bed. She didn't release her arms from around his neck, but she pulled him onto the bed with her. "Are you grateful that I rescued you?" she asked.

He brushed back her silky dark hair and caressed her cheek. The touch of her smooth skin in this world was even more pleasurable than in their trances. How would it feel to kiss her? "I am very grateful, princess." He was lowering his head to hers when he heard a throat being cleared.

Shamara sat up so fast that she smacked his face and Dagan could feel his lip already swelling. "Lord Duo! How rude! Do not interrupt your princess when her humble servant is about to show his enormous gratitude!"

"My princess is going to get a hand across her backside if she doesn't watch her tongue." He looked at Dagan. "I won't mention what might happen to her humble servant if he doesn't clear the room of his enormous gratitude this instant."

Dagan wasted no time leaving behind the princess. He paused in the hall to hear Lord Duo scolding her until she was whimpering and begging him not to tell her father about her bad behavior. When he left the room, Duo was smiling to himself.

"In a matter of days, she is going to be in your hands," he said to Dagan. Dagan smiled to himself as he imagined her in his hands. "Until then," continued her protector, "keep your hands off."

He led him to another room where Dagan was surprised to find Master Nazzar waiting, sitting near the other older man. They had what appeared to be scrolls spread out between them and his master was staring at them as the other pointed out symbols.

"Dr. Stryfe is probably razing him," commented Duo as he punched a code into the communicating device imbedded in the wall. "He thinks your teacher doesn't know the Camridaeus myth." 

A woman's face appeared on the viewing screen. She appeared to have been sleeping. "Maxwell! Have you any idea what time it is? This is the second time my sleep has been interrupted by you tonight! I just got back to sleep!"

"Relena, where is Heero?"

"At his office! Quatre is furious about the raid on his mansion. So, did you get what you were after?"

Duo sighed. "Relena, I wasn't involved. As you recall, I was trying to clean up another of my messes."

"One of your messes!? Is that what I am to you?"

Dagan turned to see the doctor standing in the doorway, her furious green eyes on the Calabrian lord. He was glad he wasn't in his shoes.

"You don't need to consider me one of your messes!" She walked out slamming the door.

"You dolt!" snapped Relena on the telecom. 

Dr. Stryfe was chuckling as he pushed aside his papers. "I guess I'll go have a talk with that girl."

"My God, Duo! How could you say such a thing?"

Dagan wondered if they were going to get back to the original business. These humans were very strange. Although he had great respect for women, Dagan wouldn't let a female talk to him like that. On the other hand, Shamara's respect was for him was still in question.

"Put me through to Heero," he snapped at Relena.

"How do you intend to fix that? Huh? I'd like to know just what…"

"Relena, put me through or I will make a detour to L12 before I return to Calabria just to pop you in the nose."

"You couldn't do it!"

"Try me!"

There was a moment of silence, as she must have keyed in the information. "There, you dumb ass! Serves you right if she never speaks to you again." Her face faded and a man's took her place.

"Duo, what the hell is going on down there? Winner wants permission to arrest your son and princess Shamara. Did they raid his mansion?"

"Raid? Ha! Two stoned teen-agers against his army of thugs can't be considered a raid."

The man Dagan guessed was Heero scratched his head. Dagan had heard the name before, but in rather unflattering terms in the Winner Mansion. "Quatre claims to have fifteen dead bodies in his home."

"I'm sure Taeron was defending the princess." Duo waved his hand as if that bit of information was unimportant. Granted, Dagan thought Winner's men were all deserving of the butchering Taeron had dealt out, but they were men with lives. "You will still be sending forces after you hear what Prince Dagan has to tell you."

"Quatre told me Dagan is dead, that the man you have is a 'wizard' who uses gunpowder trickery to frighten people. He is a known criminal on the planet that Quatre had captured and was waiting to send to L12 to stand trial."

"Do you believe that crap?"

"Does that man ride with the brigands?"

Dagan stepped forward. "My lord, I have ridden with the brigands, but only as a means to an end. And you should know that the brigands are one of the many arms that Quatre Winner uses to keep a stranglehold on the people of this colony."

Heero stared at him silently for a moment, then he said. "What do you have to tell me?"

After several moments, Heero opened his communication to other important officials, and at the end of Dagan's detailed account of his stay on the Mars Colony, Heero promised there would be swift action against Winner. Swift action meant at least another day, which would give them time to gather the necessary forces and make the trip. 

"Until that time, you are going to have to hold him off yourself," stated Heero. "Don't do anything foolish, Duo."

"Me? Foolish? Hey, I have my own problems."

"So now I am a problem?"

Duo looked from the telecom to the doorway where the doctor was standing. The tension between them was quite thick and Dagan wished he were somewhere else. "Babe, you have the worst timing!"

"I have damn good timing! Now I know exactly how you talk about me behind my back!"

Duo bumped Dagan as he crossed the room to stand over the woman. "I have had enough of this!" He reached down and yanked her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" She started beating on his back and Dagan knew how that felt. Long after they disappeared out the door, Dagan could hear the doctor shouting and swearing.

"Do you think I should help her?" he heard himself asking no one in particular.

Chuckling form the telecom reminded him that the governor was till connected. "Don't worry about them. If anyone will need help, it will be him. I'll give you the same warning, Prince Dagan. Don't do anything foolish." The screen went blank.

Dr. Stryfe walked in snickering. "I see the boy is taking my advice, but I would still poke her with a sedative if I were him."

Dagan walked to where Master Nazzar sat quietly with a slight smile on his lips. "Master, these people are very strange."

The old man nodded. "They are indeed." But his attention was on the scrolls.

"Master, please stay with these people while I do what must be done. They can keep you safe."

He nodded again. "I understand. The gods will protect you."

"You seem very sure," commented Dagan.

His master did not respond. 

Sighing, Dagan returned to the room where Shamara was resting. The moment he passed through the door, he felt a blade at his throat. "It is me. Dagan. Put away your blade, Taeron."

The imperial guard did as he commanded and returned to a mat on the floor near the door. "I am sorry, my lord prince, but I must protect the princess."

"I won't harm her. In fact, I wish to commend…" He was interrupted by snoring and he realized with annoyance that Taeron had fallen asleep. Dagan wondered if Taeron came in the package with Shamara when they married. Although he was bound to be a mighty warrior, Dagan really didn't want him sleeping on a mat in their bedchamber.

"Dagan? Have you returned to offer your gratitude?" He could see in the dark that she had sat up on the bed.

He went to sit near her and drew her into his arms. "Lord Duo is preoccupied, so I think I can show you proper gratitude."

"I'm not preoccupied," snorted Taeron.

"Shut up!" snapped Shamara. "Remember, you are my imperial guard, not…"

"I know! Not your imperial conscience."

Dagan put his hand under her chin and raised her face to his. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are, princess?"

"How did I get stuck with this duty?" muttered Taeron. "Never has there been an imperial guard for a female, and I have been chosen to be the first!"

"Shut up!" snapped Shamara again. "You should be grateful!" She looked sweetly back at Dagan. "You may continue."

Dagan was quickly losing the mood that had brought him in here in the first place. "Ah, well, your eyes…"

"They are like the twilight after the setting of the second sun," commented Taeron. "She heard that one from the Prince Avar."

"Avar said that?" Dagan wondered what situation they had been in for Avar to be romantic.

Shamara made a sound of disgust. "If you don't shut up, Taeron, I am going to hit you."

"Don't forget to tell her about her rose-petal lips," said Taeron, ignoring her threat.

"Did Avar say that too?" Dagan was going to enjoy beating Avar in combat for her hand.

"No that gem was from the Prince of Varoonya."

"The prince of Varoonya was courting you?" Both Teralon and Varoonya were planets far wealthier than Bayman. Why would Emperor Trey want his precious daughter to marry him?

"Taeron, I warned you!" Shamara pushed past Dagan, and with her pillow, she pummeled her hapless imperial guard.

Dagan shrugged and walked to the door. He glanced back to see stuffing and feathers flying in the air. "Princess, I will show my gratitude another day."

"See what you've done!" he heard her shriek when he closed the door. "I'm going to make you pay!"

The only privacy they were going to get would be in a trance.

Smiling, he leaned against the door and closed his eyes.

Shamara appeared before him, feathers embedded in her hair. "Where am I?"

He picked a feather from her hair and tickled her nose. "On the other side of the door."

She smiled at him and slid her arms around his neck. "You are very clever. How did you initiate the trance?"

Dagan leaned down to kiss her. "I will tell you another time, princess." This wasn't quite what he wanted, but he couldn't imagine anything sweeter than the kiss they shared.

Suddenly the door slammed against him and Dagan stumbled to the floor.

Taeron peeked out. "Sorry, my lord prince. I didn't realize you were standing there."

"Taeron!"

Dagan rubbed his head as he walked out of the house. They were all very strange.


	23. The gratitude of Trynity's patients

****

Mars Colony

There were worse ways to spend a morning, thought Trynity as she snuggled closer to the body keeping her warm. She lightly traced the muscles on Duo's upper body, mentally naming them and comparing them to the pictures in her medical textbooks. She used to name them out loud to Lars when he helped her study for exams. When they were first married, his muscles were as toned as Duo's were now, but the time spent taking care of the children and taken its toll on him. 

"Babe, I hope you aren't thinking of Lars Nelson," grumbled Duo. "Because I'm nice and cozy right now and I think it would hurt my feelings."

She smiled and looked up at him. This was the most relaxed she'd seen Duo since his return into her life. Trynity felt peaceful herself, but that was to be expected in the aftermath of the storm that had raged between them. When he hauled her out of the house, she expected to argue, but once they came to this spot and he dropped her to her feet, exchanging heated words with him was the last thing she wanted. Some things got better with age, she thought. She just hoped he wasn't thinking of the woman he left behind.

"I'm not thinking of Lars," she lied. He didn't need to have his feelings hurt over something so petty.

"What made you marry him, Trynity? Did you do it because you thought it would get back at me?"

"I needed someone to love me," she confessed. "And I never doubted his feelings for me."

Duo hugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. "I made a very stupid mistake, but don't ever doubt me again, Trynity. I'll never do anything to hurt you."

After a moment of silence, she commented, "I don't know anything about your life." Although, Trynity had work to do at the clinic, lying around in a grassy nest in the forest with Duo Maxwell seemed to be more important at the moment. She just hoped that no one stumbled on them or she might lose any respectability she had left.

"What do you want to know?"

She really wanted to know about his relationship with Larya, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. Taeron's mother was a jealous wound inside of Trynity that she feared would never heal. "What happened after you escaped the transport?"

His soft laughter was bitter. "Where do I start? Newt and I hung around Bayman for awhile, harassing their trading vessels headed toward sectors other than Calabria. I'm not going to say Trey encouraged it, but he certainly didn't discourage. Bayman was forced to continue trade with Calabria, and at lower prices because they couldn't get other buyers. We made a tidy little profit, but when we returned to the pirate satellite, Newt gambled his share of the money away. He spent a lot of money on Larya, too."

Trynity cringed when she heard the other woman's name.

"I was annoyed with the lifestyle," he continued, "so I went to Calabria to wait for the wormhole to open. I can't possibly put into words how I felt when they told me it wasn't going to open again, that it hadn't for many months."

Trynity wasn't sure she liked reliving those feelings. Duo had become tense under her comforting caresses. Perhaps it was a mistake to bring it up when she wasn't sure how well his ulcer had healed.

"I wasn't sure what I was going to do, and Trey invited me to stay with him and help him. I don't think I need to tell you how sadly lacking my skills were to survive on Calabria. Trey suggested I train with the imperial guards, and I had nothing to lose, so I agreed. Calabrians enter the training as children, so I had to work twice as hard, but it helped to keep my mind off that wormhole. Trey included me in his family and made a home for me in his household. Shamara used to toddle around my feet and get in the way as did Amyr. Shortly before Chaela was born, my training was complete and I left the imperial palace to join the guards who were putting down rebellions."

"I am surprised that his people would reject his rule," said Trynity.

"You should know by now that there are always people who prefer chaos to order, and who consider justice a sign of weakness. His edicts concerning the treatment of women caused much of the discontent. Many imperial households refused to keep their women to the point of gathering armies to oppose Trey. The last great insurrection happened two years into his reign. Many of the powerful houses allied against him, and Trey mustered what forces he could to lead into battle. Fortunately, the imperial guard did not defect but remained loyal to their emperor. I fought at his side. He left Arora to rule in his stead at the palace, and while we were fighting, another force attacked the palace. Arora led the household guards and beat them back, forcing them to surrender when they had assumed they would easily capture the imperial seat of power because he had left a female in command. The defeat demoralized the rebellious army."

"They must have felt humiliated."

"Many learned to respect females because of Arora's accomplishments. Most pledged their allegiance to the royal house. Those that did not were banished to the second moon." He paused, and Trynity suspected Larya was going to enter the story soon. "With problems on the surface taken care of, Trey sent me to the pirate satellite to take care of the problem of the pirates. They had started harrassing Calabrian trading vessels. So I hung around Newt for a while, waiting for him to do something to arrest him. Stealing my money wasn't enough."

"I remember you mentioning it." Trynity didn't want to hear the rest.

"I think he was resentful of my new position in life. I had come to the satellite as a representative of the emperor. Trey wanted the pirates dispersed and the satellite dismantled. Newt couldn't deal with it. After I had nothing to my name, he suggested we go on another raid for old time's sake. I refused, and he took off on his own. If he knew what was going on behind his back when he was gone, he didn't say so. The last time he left, he made the mistake of attacking an imperial Calabrian convoy headed to Bayman. I didn't have to worry about arresting him because his ship was destroyed. Shortly after, the entire satellite was evacuated before it was dismantled. I think King Seighen was quite pleased that the pirate problem had been dealt with. That is when he began negotiating Dagan's marriage to Shamara."

Duo was avoiding talking about directly about Larya, and Trynity didn't know if she should be grateful. Was he sparing her feelings, or did he not want to talk about her because of his own feelings for Larya?

"You feel tense, babe."

"I should get back to the clinic." But she didn't move. Trynity didn't want to leave his embrace. She didn't even care that her father and Stryfe would know what she had been doing all morning. She felt entitled to a diversion, despite the danger they were all facing. Maybe if they stayed hidden in the tall grass like this for a few days, by the time they emerged, Quatre Winner will have been arrested.

"Would you like to hear the rest?"

Trynity didn't want to hear about Larya, didn't even want Duo thinking about her. So she rolled over and stretched out over him as she leaned down to kiss him. "Later, Lord Duo. I have a better way to spend the time right now."

"You've always used your time wisely, Trynity."

Later she was satisfied that he wouldn't be thinking about Larya, but as he dozed in the afternoon sun peeking through the trees, Trynity imagined him with the other woman. The images disturbed her, probably as much as Duo's thoughts about Lars disturbed him. Yet Larya was living, breathing, and possibly pregnant with Duo's daughter. Trynity didn't have the courage to ask him about her. She was afraid his answers would hurt, and she had suffered enough without inviting more pain.

Now she could hear their names being called in the distance. Trynity ignored them, but Duo stirred from his nap. He blinked a few times, then smiled down at her. "I thought I was dreaming."

"Let's just dream a little more." She tightened her arms around him.

"I would rather Stryfe didn't find us like this."

"He is probably still at the clinic caring for my patients." Reluctantly, she pushed herself away from Duo who sat up and started hunting for his clothing.

"Is Stryfe interested in pursuing a career in medicine?" asked Duo as he dressed.

Trynity laughed. "Not him. I don't know what he wants to do. He can decide that after he puts in his obligatory year in the Space Defense Alliance."

"Quynn is half-way through her year and she still doesn't know what she wants," he remarked. "I know piloting a gundam is not at the top of her list."

Trynity didn't respond as she finished buttoning her shirt. Duo and Quynn must have had some father-daughter conversations. She should be happy that they had developed some rapport, but Trynity felt a little jealous.

"I must have a lot of patients waiting for me." She picked through her hair to pull out twigs and grass.

Duo dug through his own hair, then slipped an arm around her waist. "Some day, babe, we won't have to go through this ritual. I enjoy our nature-loving excursions, but just once I'd like to lounge around in a bed without the fear that old man Stryfe is going to interrupt us."

"I heard that!" Dr. Stryfe walked into the clearing, then called out, "they're over here and neither of them appears to be injured." Her father snorted. "I didn't think he had it in him."

"Father!" She wasn't sure if she liked this side to him.

"I hope you realize, young man, that where ever you intend to drag my daughter, you're taking me, so don't think you're going to have it easy. I'm an old man in my waning years, and I need my daughter to take care of me."

"I have a big enough palace and enough guards to keep you out of my hair," laughed Duo.

Trynity frowned at both of them. "I don't appreciate the two of you making plans without considering my feelings!" The sight of the two grinning fools was enough to make her temper bubble up. "I am not leaving Mars Colony! The people here need me. My home is here!"

"Here we go," muttered Dr. Stryfe, rolling his eyes.

Duo's arm dropped from her waist. "But…"

"But what? Did you think what we did was going to make me follow after you like a begging puppy?" When he scratched his head and looked away, she realized he did think everything had changed. She stamped her foot angrily. "You're not _that _good!"

She was so furious that she couldn't say anything more, so she stomped away in the direction of the clinic. The two morons in her life could just make up a new plan or decide that they weren't going to get her to do what they wanted. Trynity was not going to leave the suffering people of this colony.

Stryfe was at the clinic with Shamara who looked as though she was trying to heal her aching head and failing. Only a few patients had visited the clinic because Quatre's men were out in force terrorizing innocent victims in place of the Calabrians they really wanted. Trynity took pity on Shamara and gave her a few painkillers, then scolded her about her behavior.

"You could have gotten yourself into a great deal of trouble," she finished.

Shamara was rubbing her temples. "Did I hear Dr. Stryfe say that my father…?"

Trynity interrupted her. "If your father were here, I am sure he would be saying the same thing."

"But…"

"No buts. I am sure he will be very displeased when he hears of your behavior." Trynity felt guilty when she saw tears gather in the young woman's eyes.

"I can't do anything right!" She threw herself against Trynity who patted her back as she sobbed. "My father is probably furious with me already for coming here with Lord Duo without his permission, and now…now I have given him a reason to be ashamed."

"I don't think your father could ever be ashamed of you, Shamara." She took a tissue and wiped Shamara's eyes. "Soon enough, you will be going back home and you will see that I am right."

"He will probably be happy when Dagan takes me off his hands," sniffed Shamara.

Trynity laughed. "Trey will probably be very sad because I know how very much he loves you. I hope that Dagan can live up to the high expectations I am sure your father has for him."

"He is a dunce," snapped Shamara. Trynity was amazed by her sudden change of spirit and decided that the pills must be doing their work. "I must constantly rescue him, and now he has gone off on another silly quest, and this time without me!"

"Men can be quite foolish."

"Do you think I should follow him and rescue him again?" asked Shamara.

Trynity shook her head. "It would be far too dangerous for you and especially for Taeron."

"Taeron is out cold. I kicked him to wake him and he did not move. Do not worry, doctor! He is fine, but I think his Calabrian half is regretting very much what he has done. I have noted that my human grandmother enjoys fermented fruit juices, but when my father drinks it, he becomes very sick. I have heard her blame his Calabrian half."

Trynity thought it more likely that Trey drank a little too much on occasions. He always did enjoy the forbidden vices. "Does your mother nurse him through his illness?" she asked curiously. 

"No!" Shamara giggled. "She becomes very angry, and her scolding makes him grab his head. Then she says she won't speak to him, and she hides in her dusty private apartments until he has recovered and begs her forgiveness."

"Does this occur often?" she asked with amusement. 

"I remember five times, and Amyr told me about another time I missed when I was staying on the second moon…"

"Five times in your lifetime?" Trynity couldn't help but laugh. At least Trowa had settled down. Arora seemed to do a good job of keeping him in line.

"Do you think that it is possible for me to enjoy my married life with Prince Dagan?" asked Shamara suddenly. 

Trynity shrugged. "He seems to like you…"

Shamara interrupted with a wave of her hand. "I didn't mean like that. I mean when we are together." Her blush warned Trynity what she was talking about.

"Have you discussed this with your mother?" Trynity had never had this conversation with Quynn, and she certainly didn't want to have it with Trey's daughter.

"My mother does not wish to discuss it. She says that my husband will guide me. My father says…"

"You asked your father?" Trynity couldn't imagine having such a personal discussion with her own. The idea of Trey discussing intimate subjects with his daughter almost made her laugh.

"He told me once that he would answer any question I might have about anything, but he always seems to have something else to do when I bring this subject up. And Lord Duo…"

"Oh my God! You didn't discuss it with him?"

"He was most informative," announced Shamara. "He talked for hours on the subject and when he was through, I realized he hadn't told me anything."

Trynity laughed. "His knowledge of women is very meager, I assure you."

"Oh!" Shamara's eyes widened. "Lord Duo does not please you?"

Trynity blushed to the roots of her hair. "I didn't say that!"

Shamara ignored her. "Lord Apolo says there are many men who do not care to please their women. According to him they should be deprived of their own source of pleasure. However, he did not explain to me precisely what he meant."

"Lord Duo doesn't need to be deprived." Trynity thought she should clear that up so that Shamara wouldn't have a low opinion of him.

"Anyway, I have only a basic understanding of what to expect after I put together anything they have all told me." She looked at Trynity and she could see that she was troubled. "I fear I will not please Dagan, and I would be very upset if he turned to other women."

Trynity did feel sorry for the princess. Unlike other women who could choose their mate based on mutual attraction, she must marry a man who was chosen for her. Her worries were genuine and Trynity wondered why her parents hadn't recognized Shamara's fears in her questions.

"I am not an expert in the field," Trynity told her. "But I think after fifteen years of marriage I can tell you a thing or two. However, I am a firm believer that you should not be intimate with a man unless you love him and you are sure he feels the same for you, even if he is your husband."

"How will I know if I love him?" Shamara seemed confused.

"I don't know!" Trynity felt a little frustrated by Shamara's innocence. "I can only tell you how I felt. Despite my common sense, I realized I was looking forward to seeing him and hearing his voice, no matter what ridiculous thing he was saying or doing. There was nothing so wonderful as his smile, and when he kissed me, I knew I was being given a glimpse of heaven. If we were apart, I felt as if part of me was missing." Trynity had felt that way for a very long time, and she still felt alone. If only Duo would listen to her and stop thinking about himself! She was beginning to think they would not be able to resolve this problem.

"Are you talking about Lord Duo?" asked Shamara as she reached out to touch Trynity.

Trynity drew back before Shamara inadvertently read her deepest thoughts. She didn't want to drag Shamara into her own troubles. "I have been fortunate to feel it more than once. I did not love my husband at first, but I grew to love him very much. Perhaps you will feel the same about Prince Dagan."

"He is far too annoying! But his kisses are quite pleasant."

"You have kissed him?" Trynity was surprised.

"Well, not really. In our trances, he has kissed me and touched me most improperly. But he has never kissed me outside of our trances." Shamara sighed unhappily. "I do not want to spend my married life in a trance."

Trynity laughed and hugged the younger woman. "I doubt you will. If I were to guess, Prince Dagan hasn't had the opportunity to kiss you or," she paused to chuckle, "touch you most improperly. He wouldn't be much of a man if he didn't want to."

"You must tell me what I should know to keep his interest," begged Shamara. "I do not want him to have concubines."

Although she was quite embarrassed to do so, Trynity told her what she could, and at times Shamara's demands for details flustered her. She wasn't surprised that Arora hadn't said anything to Shamara, not having had a mother of her own to confide in. Then again, Arora should have realized her daughter needed to know such things. When she had finished answering Shamara's last question, Trynity gave a big sigh of relief, then she wondered if she should be having this kind of discussion with her own daughter.

Shamara thanked her effusively, but she still appeared to be troubled despite her new information. She stayed with Trynity for another hour helping her with patients before she returned to the house to eat. Trynity checked on the miner who was doing well and had plans to leave for L12 the following day. The man's wife and son were visiting and planned to remain the evening at the clinic to care for him. Trynity was glad because she was tired and she knew Stryfe was exhausted also. None of them were getting much sleep lately.

As she was leaving, a little boy hurried up to road to catch up to her. She recognized him, having set his broken arm a few months ago. He handed her a note and ran away before she could even properly greet him and ask him about his health. The note was from Bert and Meggie reminding her of their invitation and to not forget Lord Duo. She didn't want to spend the evening in the village with Duo, and she especially feared the walk home under the moonlight. Trynity knew him well enough to predict he would put a move on her and she knew herself well enough to predict she would melt in his hands. Before she knew it she would be on that Calabrian ship forgetting about her responsibilities.

Returning to the house, she discovered that Duo had fallen asleep when he went to check on Taeron, so she didn't bother waking him. She showered, put on a skirt and blouse, then tiptoed through the living room where her father was snoring under a rolled out scroll. She checked Stryfe's room and discovered he was missing. Trynity suspected he was visiting some girl in the village. He had plenty to chose from. She hadn't seen Shamara either, but that didn't mean the girl wasn't sitting behind the house on a lawn chair deep in a trance trying to practice what she had learned. Trynity hoped she wasn't that irresponsible.

So she set off on her own, relishing the peace and quiet of the short walk in the twilight. She even regretted not waking Duo. Maybe they could have enjoyed this together, that is if they could keep from arguing. He didn't seem to understand that she had an emotional tie to these people. She delivered their babies, set their broken limbs, sutured their cuts, counseled them, listened to their hopes and fears. How could she suddenly leave them? Trynity would feel as though she had betrayed them.

And what did he expect her to do if she did leave with him? Trynity couldn't imagine living in a palace the size Quynn described. Trynity would feel foolishly out of place, and she wondered if his people would resent the fact that she was not a Calabrian like Larya.

As she entered the village, she noticed it was unusually quiet. A few dogs barked, but there were no children playing in the last rays of the sun, no couples sitting outside on such a beautiful night. What was she doing alone? 

When she rang the doorbell to Meggie and Bert's house, the latter opened it. He seemed relieved to see her, but his relief turned to panic when he saw that she was alone.

"Where is Lord Duo?"

Trynity smiled and stepped in. "Do you have a situation that needs his expertise? I'm sorry that he couldn't make it, but I'm sure I can be of assistance."

"Indeed you can."

She spun to the direction where the voice had come from and saw Quatre Winner sitting at the table, a sword lying across the table before him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you and _Lord_ Duo. Shame on you, Dr. Nelson, for not bringing him along, or did you tire him out today?"

She turned and headed to the door, but Bert stepped in her way. "Sorry, doctor, but I can't let you go."

"What?" Trynity turned to Meggie, who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, her hands clasped. "Are you going to let him keep me here?"

"Good question," said Quatre with a smirk. "Well, Meggie?"

Meggie straightened and looked at Trynity. "I'm sorry, Dr. Nelson, but Mr. Winner has given us a great deal of money, and with the twins being born, and Mr. Winner responsible for Bert's employment to begin with, we can't afford to refuse him."

Trynity couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I…I helped you…"

"We have enough money to pay you now," offered Bert.

Trynity wanted to slap him, to tell him the money was unimportant, but she doubted the fool would understand. "What about Lord Duo? Is this how you would show him gratitude for everything he has done to help you?"

Bert shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at his feet.

"He is an alien," said Meggie. "We don't owe him anything!"

Quatre laughed. "Very good, Meggie. I'll leave a little extra behind for that little speech." He pushed himself to his feet. "I am so very disappointed that you didn't bring Maxwell with you. I had plans for him." Picking up the sword, he ran his finger along the edge, and when the sharp blade nicked his skin, he smiled and licked his own blood.

"Too bad he won't get the chance to kill you!" She raised her chin to glare at him when he came to stand before her. "I don't know what you have planned, but…"

"Really? Now Trynity, I am surprised you could be so naïve!" He grabbed her arm, and despite her resistance, he dragged her to the door. "I've invited you to my home many times, but you never seem to have the time, so tonight I am insisting."

"Let me go!"

"That is a lovely outfit you are wearing. I always did admire your short skirts." He reached under her skirt and grabbed a handful of her backside. "I know you wanted me to do that. I think you want all men panting after you like a bitch in heat."

Trynity slapped him and tried to twist away, and failing, she leaned down to sink her teeth into his hand. Quatre released her, but only long enough to form a fist and strike her in the face. She slammed against the door and would have fallen had he not grabbed her arm again and dragged her to him.

"I hate it when women do that," he muttered in her ear. "Now behave, Dr. Nelson."

Before Quatre dragged her out of the house, she managed to look at Meggie and Bert one last time to plead silently for help, but they turned away. Trynity's heart was broken.

Once on the street, Trynity wasted no time in shouting for help. Quatre made no attempt to stop her, and she knew why when she saw people turn away from their windows and draw their shades. She refused to believe no one would help, and she continued to scream for anyone, but it was as if she was calling into a void. Finally she gave up and resisted the urge to cry.

"It's a beautiful night for a walk." He slipped his arm around her waist. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do right now but walk in the moonlight with you, Trynity. Who knows, maybe before we get back to the mansion, you might get a little carried away and we won't quite make it to my huge, comfortable bed."

"Only in my worst nightmare," she snarled at him. Suddenly she felt a prick in her arm and she looked down to see him finish emptying into her flesh the glowing green substance she recognized as the same drug Taeron had brought back to her only that morning. "What…what was that?"

"A little something my own zoologists called A5X-22, but which my men call 'the sauce.'" He tossed aside the syringe and pulled her against him. "Don't resist it, Trynity, and we'll enjoy ourselves."

She was already starting to feel light-headed, as if she had drunk a little too much champagne as she had on her wedding night. She doubted Quatre was going to let her pass out as Lars had.

"Boss! Look what we found nosing around Jeb's girl!"

It seemed as if everything were happening in slow motion as she saw two of Quatre's men holding a beaten and bleeding Stryfe between them. They tossed him at Quatre's feet and Trynity heard him groan. When she tried to go to him, Quatre shoved her back.

"Well, I don't really know who Jeb is and I am sure his girl is a whore anyway, but I do appreciate your little gift." Quatre grabbed a handful of Stryfe's hair and jerked back his head. He didn't seem to be conscious. "Roughed him up a bit, eh? Well, we will just consider him tenderized."

"Let him go," Trynity managed to say. Her voice sounded strange.

One of Quatre's men snickered. "Gonna have a little fun with the doctor whore, Boss?"

"I don't appreciate you calling Dr. Nelson a whore," said Quatre quietly.

"Everyone knows that Calabrian scum gets her when he wants. I'm the one that saw them rolling around in the weeds today. You might call her a whore if you saw what I did." The man laughed lewdly and Trynity closed her eyes tightly as if she could block out her own shame.

A gunshot made her open them as quickly as she could. Quatre was putting away a pistol, and Trynity thought her heart stopped until she realized he hadn't shot Stryfe. But there were pieces of his man's head scattered on the street.

"Don't rush for your medical bag, doctor, I think we can pronounce him dead." Quatre laughed and caught her from falling. She was sick and horrified, and completely powerless. "I think we've had as much fun as we can here. As for our dear young friend, Ivan Stryfe, I think he would benefit from a little work in the mine, don't you think, Mort?"

"Ah, my name ain't Mort, sir."

"It is now."

"Yes sir! I'll take him to meet up with Magnar."

Trynity clutched Quatre's shirt. "Please don't send Stryfe to the mine! I…I know what goes on there."

He raised his brows. "I am surprised at you, Trynity! If you know what goes on there, then why haven't you beaten down my door with your recriminations?"

"I only just found out this morning."

"Probably from that bastard imperial guard and that freak from Bayman." He caressed Trynity's cheek, but she couldn't feel anything. The drug was completely numbing her. "Perhaps you can think of a way to persuade me that Stryfe isn't cut out for work in the mine."

She grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head to hers. Although it sickened her to do it, she kissed him as deeply as she could until he finally broke it off. He was breathing heavily so she knew he had enjoyed it. "That is only the beginning," she whispered. She prayed that Stryfe was unconscious and didn't know what she was about to do to save him.

Quatre chuckled and lifted her in his arms. "My dear, the experience would be quite gratifying for the both of us, but since this is your first time with the sauce, I'm afraid all you will be able to do is lay back and enjoy what I am going to do to you. As for Stryfe, well, I can't seem to get Maxwell's Calabrian whelp and I am beginning to think I will have to take Sandrock against him. I'll just have to take out my frustrations on Maxwell's other bastard. Someone has to pay for my son's death."

"No!" cried Trynity, but she couldn't move so much as a finger to help herself or her son. She was completely paralyzed and yet she was awake and feeling nothing more than mildly drunk.

"Get him to Magnar. I want him to be the first man into the mine."

She looked around the darkened street one last time, hoping that someone would help her, but all she saw was the extinguishing of the last light remaining light.

Something awoke Duo. He didn't know what, perhaps just a bad dream, but he had a feeling of extreme danger.

"My lord!" Taeron had leapt form his mat on the floor, sword already drawn. "Do you feel it?"

Duo found his own sword lying beside him on the bed. "Where is Shamara?" There was no one in the room beside them. She must be in the living room.

"Do you hear that, my lord?"

Duo listened carefully, and in the distance he could hear the buzz of approaching motorcycles. Both he and Taeron left the room immediately, and Duo was perplexed to find only Dr. Stryfe in the house. Even before Taeron could hustle the older man out the back door, something smashed through the window of the house and burst into flames. Duo tried to put it out, but another came through and he realized the futility. 

They intended to burn down Trynity's house.

Hearing shouting further away, Duo remembered the clinic and the very real possibility that Trynity was there with her patient. He dashed out the back door and sprinted to the clinic. It was already ablaze, probably having been attacked first. The shouting he had heard was from the men on their motorcycles who had trapped Taeron in a circle they formed by riding around him. Duo knew he could take care of himself, so he charged into the burning clinic. Trynity's patient was trying to rise with the help of a woman and a young boy, but he was too heavy for them, so Duo hurried to them, lifted him and rushed them all out the door. The woman cried out in terror when a bullet whizzed past them, and Duo saw that the men were shooting at Taeron and the bullets he was deflecting with his sword were flying wildly in every direction.

Annoyed, Duo shouted, "Finish up over there and help me!" He then dashed back into the clinic. He called Trynity's name, and he searched for her blindly in the smoke, but he realized she probably wasn't there. On his way out, he bumped into someone and quickly realized it was Taeron.

"We need to get some water to put out this fire!" They managed to find buckets outside the clinic and quickly filled them at the stream. Although they worked as fast as they could, the clinic burned uncontrollably, but Duo didn't give up trying to save the building.

Dr. Stryfe finally caught his arm as he was returning from the stream with another bucket of water. "Give up! You can't save that building! What is the use of trying?"

Duo shook off his arm. "I have to try!"

"Why? If the damn place is burned to the ground, she'll have to go with you."

Duo was amazed at her father's insensitivity. "She can always build another one, but I can't rebuild her hope if she loses it now."

The old man seemed to understand him because he started to help as well as the woman and her son. Still the fire raged, and Duo was about to give up when he dropped his bucket on the ground and raised his hands to the sky. The gods couldn't desert him now!

A streak of lightening shot across the sky followed by a clap of thunder that shook the ground. Duo fell to his knees as rain poured down from the sky.

"A miracle!" cried the crippled miner.

Tears of gratitude streamed down Duo's face as the rains extinguished the blaze. Taeron put his hands on his shoulders, and Duo was glad his son understood his intense emotion. Duo couldn't bear to see Trynity crushed by the loss. Perhaps she could salvage something from the clinic yet, although her home was completely destroyed.

"This is a sign from the gods," he said aloud.

Dr. Stryfe snorted. "And how do you interpret that sign, Maxwell? First the clinic burns – in my opinion a very good sign from the gods that they favored its destruction – and now the rains save it. I hope you know what the hell they want, because I'm getting mixed signals."

"What the gods want will become clear in time," stated Taeron.

Duo couldn't have a more loyal son. "Right now I wonder where Trynity and Shamara are."

"I don't know about the princess, but I seem to recall something about a dinner invitation from that bone-headed Bert," said Dr. Stryfe.

Duo smacked his own forehead with the back of his hand. "I completely forgot! She must have gone into the village."

"It is very strange, my lord, that she did not see or hear of the fire," spoke up Taeron.

The likelihood that Trynity was in trouble was very high. If she knew there was a fire at her clinic, she wouldn't waste any time getting back. "What are we going to do about Shamara?"

"I fear she may have gone after Prince Dagan," said Taeron. "I am ashamed that I am not there to protect her."

"You bear no blame. That girl's actions are very ridiculous. Now we must trust in the powers that the gods have given her and the imperial training she has received. She's just going to have to take care of herself." Duo started to leave, but Taeron stopped him.

"My lord, I would be honored if you allow me to accompany you." 

Duo was about to tell him it would be better if he stayed there in case more of Quatre's thugs came to finish the job, but he glanced at the men already laying dead. Taeron might be safer with him because Quatre would probably send an army this time instead of gang of incompetent buffoons.

They decided to take the miner and his family to his home on the outskirts of the village where they also left Dr. Stryfe, then they went to Meggie and Bert's home. Duo rang the doorbell several times, then rapped on the door with his fist. He could hear movement inside, but for some reason they were not answering. Duo noticed that other people in the neighborhood were peeking out their windows like frightened mice.

"Allow me, my lord." Taeron kicked down the door with such force that it came off at the hinges and the doorframe fell with the door.

"I could have picked the lock," commented Duo as he stepped on the door.

"My method was faster."

"Mine was neater," Duo could hear the babies crying, so he headed toward the sound. Suddenly Bert launched from a side room and fell at his feet whining.

"Please forgive us, Lord Duo! We were afraid of what he would do if we didn't help him."

Meggie appeared in the hall with one of the screaming infants in her arms. There were tears running down her cheeks. "My…my baby is sick! She has a fever! We need the doctor!"

Duo looked down at Bert. "Where is she?"

"Mr. Winner took her with him!"

Taeron drew his sword. "Shall I kill him, my lord?" When Duo shook his head, Taeron still put the point of his sword to Bert's throat although Meggie was wailing so loudly that Duo couldn't hear the screaming infant any more. "You are a dishonorable man. After all that the healer has done for you, you have repaid her with treachery. You deserve to die, but my father has chosen to spare your life." His blue eyes took in Meggie and Bert. "I would not be so forgiving."

They left the house without another word. When they were on the street, a window opened on the second story of a house nearby. "Are you the Calabrians?"

Duo approached the house warily. "If we are?"

The young woman seemed worried. "I saw what they did with the doctor," she said in a low voice. "My parents would be angry if they knew I was speaking to you."

"Go on." Duo guessed that Quatre had terrorized the neighborhood into silence.

"Mr. Winner gave Dr. Nelson some of the sauce, and she couldn't move. My mother closed my shade and wouldn't let me look, but I heard him say something about taking Stryfe to the mine."

"By the gods, I heard Prince Dagan's story!" exclaimed Taeron. "I know what becomes of men in the mines. I must prevent my brother from such a fate!"

The young woman leaned out her window further. "My friend knows one of Magnar's men and she overheard him say they were traveling north. I think there is a mine not so far from here."

"I am grateful for your help," said Taeron. He looked at Duo. "May the gods protect you."

"And you, my son. I suspect you are going to find Shamara and Dagan as well. Try not to kill any innocent people."

Taeron's eyes narrowed. "There are no innocent people on this planet." With that said, he disappeared into the night.

"Mr. Winner took the doctor to his mansion," said the young woman. She added, "I hope she's all right."

Duo had similar hopes.


	24. Evil defeated

****

Mars Colony

Shamara didn't know where she was going, but she continued to push blindly through the forest brush. When she had started off on this foolish quest to find and help Dagan, the sun had still lit the sky, but now she could barely see from the light of the two small moons. Where was Dagan? Why couldn't she contact him?

She stopped once again and closed her eyes, but no amount of concentration brought him to her. "Dagan! Why won't you answer me? I know you can hear me!" Shamara wasn't sure he could hear her, but if Dagan could reach her in a trance of his own will, then certainly she should be able to communicate with him. But there was no answer to her calls, so she could only conclude that he was refusing to answer.

About ready to turn back in failure, Shamara heard something in the distance that made her stop. Was that the call of a wolf? There were no wolves on Mars Colony! Yet she heard the howl again, and this time it was accompanied by the screech of an eagle, so Shamara knew that she had entered a trance and that Dagan was in danger! 

"Princess!"

She spun around. "Taeron! What are you doing here in my trance?"

Taeron was holding his sword. "I don't know what you are talking about. I have come from the village where the healer was taken prisoner by the fiend Winner, and he has sent my brother to the mine."

Shamara blinked as she stared at him. She reached out to pinch him.

"Youch! Why did you do that?" Taeron was frowning as he rubbed his cheek.

"I wanted to know if you were real."

He grabbed her arm. "Let us continue in this direction. There should be a mine up ahead."

She heard the wolf again, but Taeron didn't seem to notice the call although they were headed toward the sound. The eagle was flying overhead, and when Taeron almost took a wrong turn, she pointed it out, but he claimed to see nothing in the sky.

"But I will trust your powers, princess."

They continued up a rise that overlooked a small canyon. The area was lighted, and Shamara saw dozens of men being held captive by guards carrying guns.

"I don't see Dagan," said Shamara.

Taeron shoved her down. "Don't let them see you, and we will have an advantage."

"We already have an advantage. You."

He smiled at her. "So, you think I am worthy to by Amyr's imperial guard?"

She smacked his arm. "You are _my_ imperial guard right now, Taeron. And if we don't rescue Prince Dagan, I'll see that it stays that way."

Taeron frowned as he turned his attention back to the men in the valley. "There appear to be only two dozen guards. But I do not trust that giant standing in front of the cave entrance."

Shamara shuddered as she looked at the huge man shouting orders to his men. There was something sinister about him, but she didn't know exactly what it was. She was sure that he was not what he appeared to be. Although the lights were bright outside the mine, Shamara did not see Dagan.

Suddenly half a dozen motorcycles drove into the canyon and one came to a stop to dump a body at his feet. "My brother!" hissed Taeron next to her. He started to get up, but Shamara grabbed his arm.

"There are too many! You will get yourself killed and what good will you be to Stryfe then?" Shamara could feel Taeron's intense emotions. For so long he had worked hard to gain Lord Duo's approval, and now he feared he would lose it if he could not save his brother's life.

"There's Dagan!" 

She quickly turned her attention back to the canyon where she saw Dagan approaching the huge man at the cave who was hauling Stryfe to his feet.

"Wizard! Where have you been?" shouted the man.

"Let him go, Magnar!"

"And if I don't?" He shook Stryfe around like a rag doll. Stryfe seemed barely conscious, and Shamara could see that he had been severely beaten.

"You will release him and all these innocent men!"

The man called Magnar flung Stryfe into the black cavern, then turned around to face Dagan. Dagan had put up his hands and Shamara could feel the energy he was drawing into him to use against Magnar. "I cannot allow you to harm these people, Magnar."

"A little late for scruples, isn't it Kael?"

"My name is Dagan, Prince of Bayman. Tell your men to stand down and let the prisoners return to their homes."

Magnar drew a huge weapon befitting his stature. "Come forth, Dagan, Prince of Bayman, and meet the edge of my blade."

"Silly," muttered Shamara. "He can burn that beast to cinders."

But to her dismay, Dagan drew his own sword, which looked like a toothpick compared to Magnar's weapon. "I will fight you on your terms, Magnar the Cruel, and I will avenge all those you have sent to your death."

"Idiot!" Shamara tried to get up, but now Taeron grabbed her arm. 

"You must let him fight, princess. If you try to save him now, you will dishonor him."

"I would rather he be dishonored than dead." But Shamara knew that Taeron was right. Dagan seemed to be determined to defeat the man on his terms. Surely he had the sense to fall back on his powers if he were in mortal danger, and if he did not, dishonor or not, Shamara would intervene.

Shamara was so intent upon the scene below that she hadn't realized Taeron had gone until she saw him lurking behind Magnar. Magnar lifted his sword and swung it at Dagan who jumped back barely in time to avoid a blow to his midsection that would have sliced him neatly in half. Shamara gasped and inched forward. Dagan sidestepped another swipe of the huge sword and Shamara cringed when he swung his own at Magnar. Magnar was able to raise his sword and the meeting of the two blades made a terrible clang. Dagan stumbled back, visibly shaken. Shamara doubted he had ever crossed swords in real combat and now he was fighting against a superior opponent who would give even Taeron a difficult workout.

She thought Taeron was going to help Dagan by clubbing the beast Magnar from the back, but he ducked into the cave. He should be helping Dagan! Then again, a roar from the cave made her fear for Stryfe now as she realized the boreworms were nearby. The ground itself was rumbling and while Dagan tried to keep his balance, Magnar threw back his head in mocking laughter.

"I am going to kill you now, wizard. I'd feed you to the boreworms, but they might spit you back out." He swung his sword in a wide arc down at Dagan who threw up his own to defend himself. The blade bent inward until Shamara heard it snap. She couldn't sit by any longer and watch him be slaughtered. 

With a running start, she jumped off the cliff edge, flipped in the air and came down between Dagan and Magnar just as he was bringing down his sword to end Dagan's life. She threw up her own short sword in time to stop the blow. Shamara had taken many hits in her training, so she was well prepared by the force of his deathblow, and her blade of imperial alloy held firm against his. Sparks flew from the meeting of the metal in a blinding array, and Shamara used the opportunity to knock Magnar back.

She turned her head to glance at Dagan. "Get up, you fool, and use your powers."

Magnar regained his balance and brought up his sword to wave in front of Shamara's face. "So, you have come to protect him. I thought I might drive you into the open."

Shamara looked back at Dagan and saw that he was wounded. He was having difficulty rising. "Dagan?"

His breathing was heavy. "Princess, what took you so long?"

Shamara would kick Taeron in the backside if a boreworm hadn't already consumed him. Concerned about dishonor? Indeed not! Dagan was considerably lacking in pride where his fighting skills were concerned. Truly, Avar was going to be the laughing stock of the galaxy when it became known that Dagan defeated him.

"Come now, princess." Magnar was beckoning to her. "There are things I would rather stick you with, but if it must be my sword, then so be it."

Shamara ran at him, and when he would have hacked her down, she dived into a somersault and came up under his guard. She did not think twice about ramming her own blade between his ribs and into his huge beating heart. The look of surprise on his face was gradually replaced by a menacing smile, and then he fell back dead.

She stood up and slapped dust from her clothing and turned to see Dagan ready to use his powers. "A little late, my lord prince."

He shrugged and dropped his hands to his side. "You make life easy for me, princess. Come here, I have a reward for you."

Shamara smiled, then dashed, did a flip and landed nose to nose to the prince. Before he could speak, she grabbed his head and jerked it to hers. As she kissed him, she heard the men corralled by Magnar's men cheering. She thought about what the doctor had said about a lover's kiss, and as she continued to kiss him with abandon, she knew in her heart that the gods had chosen Dagan as her mate. His arms were around her, and he pulled her close to him. The miners were escaping despite the efforts of the guards, but Shamara was almost completely oblivious.

The kiss might have gone on forever. Shamara would not have minded if it had although she had other things that she wished to experience with her wizard prince. But reality intervened as the ground began to shake. 

Dagan pushed back from Shamara who spun around to face the cave. Taeron stumbled from the darkness behind helping Stryfe, and they barely cleared the cave entrance when a boreworm shot out, reared its hideous head and struck down at the two men. But Dagan let forth a stream of power that hit the creature before it could attack. Its pained shriek was cut short when it exploded and pieces of it rained over the entire area.

When the splatter finally finished Taeron and Stryfe joined Shamara and Dagan. The men who had been captured had already fled, and Magnar's brigands were lying dead in the canyon, killed by the men they had sought to feed to the boreworm.

"That was a nasty business," remarked Stryfe as he looked at the chunks of flesh scattered everywhere. He wiped some off his sleeve.

Taeron took one look at the dead Magnar and said, "Princess, I thought I told you to stay where you were."

She kicked his shin and enjoyed his cry of pain as he hopped on one foot. "You fool! He needed my help! Remind me to remind you that you are my guard, not…"

"I know!" Taeron looked at Stryfe. "Are you all right, brother?"

"I think I still have all my body parts despite the best efforts of that boreworm."

"Then we should return to the Winner mansion to help Lord Duo," announced Taeron. "The healer has been taken prisoner."

Dagan was wiping boreworm slime from his own clothing, but he quickly found his sword. "We must help her. I have heard his plans for her."

Stryfe reached down to take Magnar's sword, but suddenly a bright light illuminated the ground and they heard maniacal laughter. "Do you think we are finished, wizard? We have only just begun!"

The light faded, and Dagan saw that the bodies of Magnar's men had transformed into creatures not of this or any world. Stryfe managed to grab Magnar's sword and jump back as the monster that Magnar had become rose from the ground. He was a demon, twice the size he had been before, with long claws and cloven feet. Shamara stumbled away and was immediately attacked by one of the creatures that had once been a brigand. Taeron didn't hesitate, but charged with his characteristic gusto for killing at the beasts that were approaching. Stryfe stared with wide eyes at the scene, and Dagan could see that he was terrified, but taking a cue from his brother, he followed Taeron with sword swinging.

Shamara had killed one creature, but another attacked immediately, and Dagan started to go to her aid, but the mocking laughter of the monster stopped him.

"You cannot ever kill me. I am empowered by the mighty lord, Camridaeus."

Dagan rushed him with his sword pointed out. The monster swung it's clawed hand and hit him with such force that Dagan flew back high in the air and landed on his back. His sword landed several feet away. He scrambled to retrieve it, but the beast placed his huge hoofed foot over it. Dagan fell back and could do nothing but stare up at the creature.

"Get up and fight me," goaded the beast in his eerie voice. Dagan was sure that the creature had come from the underworld, that the gods had sent it as one last test of his courage and faith.

"They keep coming!" shouted Taeron.

Dagan saw that the creatures appeared impossible to kill. Each one they defeated rose to fight again.

"You must kill their master!" cried out Shamara. "Do it, Dagan!"

Dagan leaped to his feet and called forth all the power he was sure he possessed and blasted the creature. The ground heaved and shuddered, and the winds in the sky wiped into a storm, casting down lightening and roaring with thunder. But when the tempest ended and the turbulence of the earth became calm, the monster was still standing before Dagan.

"Is that the best you can do?" It threw back its head and roared.

Shamara beat down the last of her opponents, then dashed to Dagan just in time to throw out her protective shield. The monster was unable to penetrate. "What are we going to do?" she asked. He was surprised to hear fear in her voice. Dagan had been thinking that the first princess of Calabria was not afraid of anything.

Stryfe and Taeron were still hacking at the other creatures, but they continued to rise and now that Shamara was not fighting, they were outnumbered. Dagan knew Shamara was right; the key to defeating them all was in killing the master beast that now circled them, waiting for her to weaken.

"We must work together," he finally said. He came to stand behind Shamara and reached out his hands to hers. The power that rushed from her into him and him into her was both tremendous and terrifying. He barely felt able to control it.

The monster shrieked in despair as light even brighter than what they had seen earlier, again blinded them and when they could see again, the bodies that had been lying on the ground had returned; the monsters had disappeared.

Dagan released Shamara and they both fell to the ground, drained of all energy. As he gathered her into his arms, Taeron and Stryfe came to them, both exhausted from their battle.

"I'm not even going to pretend I understood what just happened," said Stryfe breathlessly. "But we have to get to Winner's mansion."

"I can't move," murmured Shamara as she snuggled closer to Dagan.

"I can't either," admitted Dagan. Then he felt warmth spreading through his body and looking down, he realized that Shamara was the source. "What are you doing?"

"You were wounded when you fought Magnar. I am healing you."

He grabbed her wrist and moved her hand away from him. "You are too weak."

"That's a shame," whispered Shamara. "There were some things I wanted to try."

Dagan raised his brows. "You will just have to tell me about them." Before he could question her further, their attention was drawn to the sky where bright lights suddenly appeared.

"By the gods, what is that? More monsters?" Taeron finally seemed to have tired from a fight. Dagan didn't think it possible.

"I think they are gundams from L12," answered Stryfe. 

"Such as the warbirds?" Taeron was scratching his head. "Ah yes, I remember! The one our sister pilots is akin to a monster."

"They are headed to the Winner estate," said Dagan. 

Stryfe sat on the ground. "They will take care of everything."

Taeron swung his sword, then it suddenly disappeared. If Dagan had the power to move at all, he would wrestle the princess' imperial guard to the ground to find out where he had put that weapon. "Lord Duo will take care of everything before they arrive."

"I hope so," said Stryfe quietly.

"For the healer's sake," added Dagan. "If Winner harms her in any way, I call upon the gods to give him a most loathsome death."

"May he reap what he sows," said Shamara, and Dagan knew Quatre Winner had been sufficiently cursed.

The last man Duo encountered, he spared his life when he pointed in the direction where Quatre Winner could be found. The lack of discipline and the extreme lack of loyalty Quatre inspired in his men shouldn't have surprised Duo. Only a few of his men put up a fight, but the rest quickly fled a fight with Duo when they realized they would likely lose. Now he walked stealthily toward the door the last coward had indicated, and noiselessly, he opened it and stepped in. He could see in the dim moonlight filtering in from the windows that it was a long, wide corridor leading to a set of double doors at the end. Duo guessed this was the private domain of 'the Boss.'

Suddenly the doors swung open, and light flooded the corridor. Duo looked around the room and was amazed by the many weapons that decorated the walls. It resembled the training room of the imperial guards in Trey's palace.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Lord Duo."

Duo turned back to see Quatre standing in the doorway, wearing only loose black silk pants. "Where is Trynity?" he demanded.

His brows shot up, and he put a finger to his lips for silence, then turned to close the doors behind him. "She's resting. We got tired of waiting for you, and now she's a bit exhausted." Quatre yawned. "It is rather late, Lord Duo, or early depending on your perspective."

Duo drew out his sword. "Am I going to have to kill you?"

Quatre chuckled, and from behind his back he drew a pistol. "To get to her, I think so. I really am not willing to give her up. She is mine now."

He was prepared for the gunfire, and the reflexes Duo had developed in his training as an imperial guard saved his life. Quatre continued to fire at him as he approached, and Duo was able to deflect each bullet with his blade. 

Finally out of ammunition, Quatre tossed the gun aside with a laugh. "I suspected I wouldn't be able to kill you that easily." He casually walked to a wall and pulled down a spear with a long, sharp curved blade at the end. "I have an advantage now, Maxwell. My spear is longer than your sword." He chuckled suggestively. "I wonder which Dr. Nelson prefers."

Duo knew that Quatre was goading him, so he couldn't afford to listen to him. If he became angered, he would lose his fighting edge, and Duo concluded that Quatre had mastered the weapons he displayed. Now he was twirling his spear with the ease of an expert. Duo was reminded of Trynity doing the same in the Shadowhawk with her weapon many years ago.

"I see you recognize this move." Quatre was circling Duo. "Lars was kind enough to teach me the skill to use this weapon. He was such a good friend, and probably the best father Malik had. Too bad I was planning to kill him and take his wife even back then." He struck out at Duo, but Duo leapt over the blade, then flipped backward over the spear Quatre was swinging at him again. Quatre lost his balance and stumbled, but he quickly recovered and turned around to face Duo.

"You're going to be a hard bastard to kill, I see."

"You may as well surrender, Winner. Didn't your men inform you that troops from L12 and the World and Space Alliance have already landed at the spaceport and are coming here to arrest you and what is left of your men?"

Quatre smirked. "They wouldn't dare interrupt my intimate moments with the lovely doctor with such inconsequential information."

Duo charged forward, and Quatre made the mistake of stabbing out with the pointed end of his spear. But Duo jumped onto the long end, took a step on it toward Quatre, then flipped over the other man and swung his sword, expecting to hear flesh cutting and bone breaking. But Quatre had turned quickly and threw his spear out to catch the edge of Duo's sword. When the metal of his weapon gave way, Quatre dropped it and dashed to the wall to find another weapon.

Trembling with anger and frustration, Duo turned to face Quatre again. This time his opponent pulled a sword down from the wall and swiped it through the air. "I am disappointed in your manners, Lord Duo. You come to my colony on a peaceful mission, and your son murders dozens of my men, including my dear, beloved son, and now you are trying to take my woman."

"She's not your woman." Duo couldn't help the fury that was building inside.

"Possession is nine tenths of the law, Maxwell, and I've had her quite thoroughly." Quatre's knowing smile snapped what control Duo had on his anger. He charged Quatre, realizing too late that it had been a mistake. Expecting his action, Quatre swung out the sword, and Duo barely jerked back to avoid losing his head. The tip of Quatre's sword sliced cleanly through his tunic and he felt the stinging pain across his chest. The wound was only surface, but it bled and distracted him. Although he knew he needed to forget his personal feelings, Duo wanted Quatre dead at his feet so badly that he could taste it. He attacked again, and Quatre easily avoided him while dragging his blade across Duo's thigh, drawing blood again.

"You're making this too easy, Maxwell," he taunted as he stood back, beckoning him with his hand. "Why don't you charge at me again and we can get this over with. I'm sure Trynity's getting a little cold. But warming her up is half the fun, isn't it?"

Duo almost made the mistake of playing into his hands again. But he was able to push back his anger so that he could concentrate on his opponent. The smile faded from Quatre's face, and he tossed away the sword to grab two shotels from the wall, which had been crossed under the Winner family crest. They were the same type of curved blades with which Sandrock had been armed. Duo knew that Quatre had some considerable skill with them.

He swung them a few times to get the feel of them, then moved toward Duo. "Do you like them? I had them made with what gundanium I could get my hands on, so now we truly are on equal footing. I think it would be more proper if you took that scythe down behind you."

"A scythe is not a weapon," stated Duo, watching Quatre carefully. The man must have a weakness as all men did. Quatre had already found his and tried to exploit it. Duo wouldn't let that happen again. Whatever he had done to Trynity was unimportant as long as she was still alive.

Quatre swung out with one shotel, and Duo caught it with his blade, and when he quickly countered with the other, having trapped Duo's blade, Duo used the strength of his trap to propel him over the curved blade slicing towards his belly.

Shoving him back, Quatre laughed. "You have become very limber, Maxwell."

"My training demanded it," he said, then added, "and I have become accustomed to the gravity on Calabria, which is higher than Mars Colony."

"Interesting. Well then, after I kill you, I may go back to Calabria to claim everything that was yours and get in a little training of my own. Is that how things are done there?"

"Hardly," scoffed Duo. "Kill me, and the imperial family would seek to avenge my death."

Quatre attacked again, but Duo was able to hold him off. Now he swung, and Duo parried blows from both weapons. "I would be interested to see how well Trey's sons fight."

"Even if you could defeat Taeron, your first challenger from the imperial house would be the first princess, and I doubt you could defeat her."

Concentrating on the fight now, Quatre stopped talking, but try as he might, he could not land another blow on Duo. Finally he stopped and stepped back, tossing aside the weapons and cracking his knuckles before forming fists and putting himself in a stance to fight. 

Duo should have run his sword through Winner's heart, but the opportunity to break his bones with his bare hands was too good to give up.

He carefully set aside his sword, because unlike Quatre, he appreciated the many times the blade had saved his life. It was not just a piece of sharpened metal that could be tossed aside like useless junk.

"You aren't going to say a prayer now, are you?" mocked Quatre.

Duo tossed off his bloodied and tattered tunic. "You are the one who should be saying a prayer."

Quatre stood with his fists up and a smirk on his face. "I can't wait to see what Calabrian training you have in hand to hand combat."

"Calabrian's do not fight with their hands. It is considered dishonorable." They were circling each other now, each looking for an opportunity to strike.

"Too bad for you, Maxwell. I was a champion boxer at my prep school, and I continued my training after I was finished with the Cinq Kingdom Defense." He struck, and he was too fast for Duo to avoid. The first blow stunned him, and the second knocked him to the floor.

Quatre beckoned to him again. "Get up. I'm enjoying this."

Duo wiped blood from his mouth and hoped that his nose wasn't broken. But he got up and was promptly rewarded with another dizzying blow to the face. He staggered back, and Quatre hit him again in the face, then in the gut, forcing the air out of him. He dropped to his knees, and Quatre grabbed a handful of his hair to jerk his head up.

"Just because they call you 'Lord' Duo on Calabria doesn't mean that you are anything more than you ever were here: a dirty little nameless street rat. You had no right to pilot a gundam, and you certainly had no right to put your grubby hands on a beautiful, intelligent woman like Trynity Stryfe."

Duo grabbed Quatre's legs and jerked them out from under him. Then he leaped on top of him, straddling him and pinning him to the floor as he punched him repeatedly and grabbed his hair to bang his head on the floor again and again. Finally he stood, pulled Quatre up, then struck him again and watched as he sagged to the floor. 

He walked around the groaning man who was bruised and bleeding. "You learn a lot on the streets." He kicked him in the ribs and was sure he heard one crack. "If you had grown up on the street, you could have predicted that and tried to avoid it." He kicked him again, this time in the face. One more kick he did for Trynity, and Quatre's shriek of pain as he curled into an infantile position assured Duo that he would take that to his grave.

He drew out one of his daggers, tested the sharpness on his finger, and satisfied it would do the job quickly, Duo grabbed Quatre's hands away from the area he was grabbing in his agony. "Now, I truly regret that there won't be any more Winner heirs, but…"

"You don't know that," choked out Quatre. "There might be one in the lovely doctor now. She wouldn't know it if was yours or mine until it was too late. Besides, she's too softhearted to get rid of an unwanted baby. After all, she didn't get rid of your brats."

Duo put the dagger to Quatre's throat and was about to drive it in, but a voice stopped him.

"Duo!" It was Heero Yuy. "Put the weapon away. I am here to arrest him."

"You don't need to arrest him. You found him dead already."

The click of a gun warned Duo that Heero was serious. "Put away the weapon and let me arrest him or I'm going to have to shoot you."

"You can't!" Quatre laughed nervously. "I tried, but he's too fast. I emptied a whole round and he didn't even break a sweat."

Quatre was talking like the annoying buffoon he had once been and not the demon he had become. Was this the side of him that he showed Heero?

"Put away the weapon," repeated Heero. "You can't kill him and defend yourself at the same time."

Duo chuckled. "Perhaps you would care to test me."

"I don't want to pull the trigger, but I will. He has to stand trial for what he has done. There are hundreds of others who want their chance for vengeance, and if you kill him here and now, only yours will be satisfied."

Duo didn't want to listen to Heero. He would rather end Quatre's life, but Heero was right. Many had suffered because of his greed and lack of humanity, and they had a right to see him suffer. So he closed his hand tightly around the hilt of his dagger, then struck Quatre's face as hard as he could before he moved away. Heero's men had to drag the unconscious, bleeding man out.

Heero was tucking away his gun as he came to Duo. "I hope you understand, old friend."

"I understand," muttered Duo as he turned away to look at the double doors. Trynity was in there, and he wanted to go to her, to assure himself that she was unharmed.

"We ran into Taeron and Stryfe on our way here. They had a fantastical tale that I'm not even sure a Calabrian would understand."

"Stryfe is unharmed?"

"Taeron pulled him to safety before the boreworm could get him and Prince Dagan killed the boreworm. We can only hope it is the last of them. Princess Shamara is with Prince Dagan and they are all at the spaceport waiting evacuation to L12. Where is Trynity?"

Duo turned his attention back to the doors, then taking a deep breath, he moved forward without answering Heero. He needed to see her alone. So much had happened that night. He prayed to his gods that she would have the strength to overcome it.


	25. A slow recovery

****

Infirmary, L12 

"I see that you are awake, Dr. Nelson."

Trynity blinked a few times and turned her head to look around the room. She recognized the furnishings and realized that she was lying in a bed in the infirmary on L12, but she was disoriented because she was usually standing at the end of the bed with the chart in her hand. Now a nurse was entering data on the chart.

"May I see that please," requested Trynity as she struggled to sit up. She felt very weak and still a little muddled. Her vision was even fuzzy around the edges.

The nurse smiled at her. "You know the rules, Dr. Nelson. Only the staff can look at the chart, not the patient."

Of course Trynity knew the rules. "Give me the damn chart!"

The door opened and a man she recognized walked in chuckling. "I see you have awakened with your usual cheery disposition." He took the chart from the nurse who left the room.

Trynity held out her hand, but after a few seconds it dropped limply on the bed. "Kurt Duran, we went to medical school together. I helped you more times than you would care to remember with your work, so you owe me a favor or two."

"I'm not giving you the chart. Doctors do make the worst patients." He tucked it under his arm. "All your vitals look good, Trynity, so you don't need to bother yourself over the details."

"How long have I been in here?" Trynity glanced at the intravenous tubes in her arm trying to determine what treatment she was being given.

"Four days. We finished your dialysis treatment yesterday in time to save your kidneys and flush your system of that drug. There should be no lasting effects."

His mention of the drug made her memory come flooding back to her. She felt nauseous, but swallowed it back and said, "I think I need some rest."

"You have visitors who would like to see you." Dr. Duran chuckled. "I think one or two might be considered permanent residents of the waiting room by now."

"I don't want to see anyone." Trynity managed to turn on her side away from the doctor. She didn't want him to see her cry.

"Your son is off duty now," said the doctor. "He's been coming here every spare moment he can as your daughter has."

"I told you," said Trynity through gritted teeth. "Tell them to go home, that I am too sick to see anyone."

"You might feel better if you talk to someone," he suggested.

"Go to hell!"

"I have surgery in an hour. I won't make it there and back by that time." She heard his footsteps approaching the door where he stopped. "You can have another day, Trynity, but if you aren't accepting visitors tomorrow – especially your own family, I will have to order a psychological evaluation."

After the door shut, she thought she would burst into tears, but she couldn't. A good cry might have made her feel better. Right now she felt nothing, no hurt, no anger – nothing. No, that wasn't right, because she felt deeply humiliated. Glancing down at the foot of her bed, she noticed that Dr. Duran had taken her chart with him. Trynity was disgusted to think of what might be noted on her chart that the nurses and doctors would read. They would know what had happened to her, and she wouldn't be able to face them. Just like she couldn't face Duo. When he had been fighting Quatre, she could hear the gunshots and the clang of the swords, and she had fought unconsciousness until she was certain Quatre had not killed Duo as he had bragged he would. Trynity could not even imagine how Duo felt when he found her. She was so profoundly humiliated by what happened to her that even now she burrowed her head under a pillow and willed everyone and everything to disappear.

The door opened, and Trynity heard humming. "Nurse, I do not want to be disturbed! Come back later."

The pillow was snatched from her head and she was aggravated to see Relena smiling down at her. "Don't be silly! I'm not the nurse, and I'm not coming back later. Well, maybe I will, but right now I am not leaving. I've brought you some flowers."

Trynity looked at the cart Relena had pushed in when she had entered. There were dozens of flowers, many sizes and colors. "Get them out! I don't want any of them!" She turned away and stared at the wall. "And I would appreciate it if you would accompany them."

She could hear Relena moving around, still humming and she wondered what she was doing until she said, "I think I'll put these red roses over by the window. I'll let you guess whom they are from. Your father sent these daisies. They are quite sweet. Of course, this bouquet is the best, because the flowers are from my garden. I picked them and arranged them myself."

"Get them out or I will throw them out the window when you leave," ordered Trynity through gritted teeth. The flowers didn't cheer her at all. "Now get out, Relena."

"I am not finished arranging your flowers."

Trynity turned around to look at her. "Please, Relena, I don't want the flowers in my room. If you want to cheer me, take them to pediatrics. The children love flowers."

Relena paused, then shrugged and began to load them back on the cart. "All right, I will concede that point to you. Did I tell you that you look absolutely horrid?"

"I don't give a damn." She turned back to stare at the wall. "I'm sorry, Relena. I know you are trying to help, but I have to deal with this on my own."

She felt the edge of her bed sag, then Relena's hand on her hair. Trynity felt uncomfortable with even her friend so close and touching her like this. Quatre had touched her hair, ran his fingers through her curls, spread her hair out on the pillow…

"Please don't touch me, Relena." There was no way she could or would explain to her closest friend how she felt.

Relena withdrew her hand. "You need more rest. I'll warn Duo to keep it short."

Trynity quickly turned around and grabbed Relena's arm. "I don't want to see him!"

Relena looked down at her arm and Trynity saw that she was gripping her so hard that her fingernails had bit into her flesh and she was bleeding. "I get the point, Trynity."

She released her and fell back. "I'm begging you, Relena, not to let Duo in here. I can't see him yet." Trynity wasn't ready to see the look in his eyes, the pain, anger, maybe even suspicion. Other women who had been her patients had described that look to Trynity although she had never seen it in the men whose wives or lovers had been raped. How did Duo feel, knowing that she didn't have a single bruise? Quatre had been so very careful.

"I think you are wrong," said her friend. "But I will tell Duo that you are sleeping again."

"If he comes in here, I will never forgive you Relena."

The door closed quietly behind her. Trynity waited several anxious minutes, expecting Duo to walk into her room despite her request, but he didn't so she sighed with relief and closed her eyes. Seeing a vision of Quatre, his face coming closer to hers, she felt panic and opened them again. Her heart was pounding and she lifted her arms to assure herself that she could move, that she wasn't paralyzed by that drug, by his eyes, by the words he said to her. All afternoon she tried to rest, but by evening she was a nervous wreck. Dr. Duran checked on her before leaving and ordered a sedative that knocked her out completely.

The following day she felt no better, even after the psychiatrist left her. The woman didn't want to prescribe anything to help her depression because of the intensive treatment she had just undergone to remove the boreworm drug from her body. Trynity would have been grateful for anything that would ease the panic attacks that accompanied her unwanted memories.

When Relena stopped by, Heero accompanied her, and after several minutes of her nonsensical chatter, Heero asked her to get him a cup of coffee. Relena was clearly annoyed to be dismissed, but she left them alone.

"I thought you might feel more comfortable talking to me without her yapping like a terrier around you."

In another lifetime, Trynity might have laughed, but now she said nothing. Her common sense told her that she had done nothing wrong, but she still wondered if she had been responsible for what Quatre had done to her. Somewhere deep inside, she felt a memory nagging to be released, but she stubbornly shoved it back. Quatre had touched her with evil and she was sure everyone could see and judged her guilty because she had no visible signs that she had suffered. She could not even meet Heero's eyes.

"You've been unconscious, so you don't know everything that has happened," started Heero.

She couldn't help but turn away from him. There was a spot on the wall she could concentrate on that made her feel safe. "Is it necessary?"

"Your home on Mars Colony was burned to the ground."

"I know." Quatre had told her all his plans. He had wanted to make sure that after that night, she would having nothing left of her past so that she could make her future with him. "The clinic is gone too."

"The clinic was badly damaged, but it is salvageable. You can thank Duo, Taeron and your father for saving most of it."

Trynity was surprised, but she didn't say anything.

"As for Quatre…"

"Duo killed him."

"If that's what you wanted, then I am sorry. But Quatre Winner must answer to his crimes in a court of law, not on the edge of a Calabrian sword."

She didn't respond. Trynity could imagine Quatre's scorn at conventional justice. He had enough money to buy his way out of anything.

"He's being transported back to Earth tomorrow to stand trial. All of his assets have been seized to pay reparations to the people he has harmed. You should put in a claim for your house and the clinic so that you can rebuild."

"I'm not going back there." Trynity never wanted to see Mars Colony again. She had put her heart and soul into the colony and its people, but they did not care. For a handful of cash they would sell her again and again. "And I don't want anything from Quatre Winner."

Heero remained quiet for a few more minutes before he said, "I know you don't feel like seeing anyone, and I can understand..."

"You can't understand," she muttered, curling her fingers into fists. "Don't even try."

"Duo has to leave, Trynity. You should speak to him before he goes."

"I can't." She felt an ache in her heart. "He should just leave."

"You don't mean that. How are you going to feel if he is unable to return?" Heero was trying to help in his own way.

She didn't answer him. What could she say?

Relena walked in. "Here's your coffee. I brought a cup for you, too, Trynity."

"I don't want it." Even if she did want a cup of coffee, she certainly didn't want what was brewed in the hospital vending machine. Trynity wished they would leave.

"I have to get back to my office." Trynity felt Heero's hand on her back. "Think about what I said."

She arched her back away from his touch, and he walked out.

"What was that insensitive jerk talking about?" Trynity guessed they had a fight and she hoped in vain that Relena wouldn't talk about it. "Shaina wants to quit her ballet lessons and he agrees! I'll never forgive him for allowing Chaz to quit his lessons, and I'll be damned if I let him have his way this time."

"I'm tired." Trynity didn't want to hear about her domestic problems. Although they were petty, Relena managed to blow them out of proportion.

"You're always tired! Are you planning to stay here much longer? The doctor says you can leave tomorrow, and I expect you to stay with me."

Trynity didn't want to stay with Relena, but she had no where else to go.

"And if you are worried about bumping into Duo, then stop. He can't wait any longer to leave, so he is going tonight. But I am sure he will be back as soon as he can get away."

"I don't want him hurrying back." Trynity didn't think she could ever face Duo again. "Tell him."

"Ha! I have no intention of telling him anything like that! You can just do it yourself."

"Is he waiting to see me?"

"Where else would he be? He doesn't need to be watching over Shamara since she's got her watchdog and that handsome young prince keeping an eye on her every move. I don't think there is any place he would rather be than down the hall waiting for you to acknowledge his existence."

Her stomach churned unpleasantly at the prospect of speaking to Duo, but she needed to get it over with. "Then tell him to come in."

"Oh! Well, maybe I should do your hair or put a little makeup on you…" Relena tried to plump up her pillow, but Trynity reached back to push her away.

"Go get him now!"

Relena made a sound of disgust, then walked out. Trynity's heart was racing, and a wave of nausea rippled through her. The thought of facing him now was making her physically sick. How could they all believe they could have future together? They made no attempt to understand how she felt.

She barely had enough time to grab the container beside her bed provided for just such a purpose before she emptied her stomach. When she finished, she set it aside, then turned to pour herself a cup of water, but one was placed in her hand.

Trynity looked up to see Duo's concerned face, and she shuddered with self-disgust over what he had just seen. Her hand was shaking as she took the cup from him, careful not to touch him, and she spilled water on herself before she managed to get some to her mouth. Once she did, her stomach began to heave again. 

When she finished, she laid back with her eyes closed. Trynity felt weak and disoriented for a few moments. Although she didn't look at him, she felt Duo's presence beside the bed. For several long moments, neither of them spoke. Trynity couldn't if she tried, because she didn't want to say what she had to.

"Relena said I could come in, that you wanted to see me." Duo's voice sounded uncertain.

She nodded, but she still couldn't speak. Her throat was tight with unshed tears.

"I am escorting Shamara and Dagan back to Calabria, and I'm leaving tonight. I can be back in a few days."

"You don't need to come back."

"I want to come back."

Trynity forced her eyes opened and she concentrated at looking at Duo's face. "I don't want you to come back."

"This isn't you talking, Trynity." Duo took a step closer to the bed and Trynity shrank back against the pillows.

"You don't listen to me, Duo! That's always been the problem! The signs are there and you don't see them, you don't want to see them. You were right when you said there was no love between us. I realized that even before I walked out the door and into Quatre's hands! When we were together that day, I just didn't feel anything, and I knew that what we once had was never as deep as the love I came to feel for Lars."

Duo stared at her in silence for a moment. She was sure he would be angered, that he would leave with harsh words she would remember for the rest of her life. Mentioning Lars and comparing them should have infuriated him. But Duo sighed and ran his hand through his hair, a nervous habit he seemed to have developed since he no longer braided it.

"Only you know what is truly in your heart, Trynity, just as I know what is in mine. And in my heart I know that you are my other half, that our hearts beat as one. What hurts you, gives me pain, and what makes you happy, gives me great joy."

"Wouldn't Mrs. Drivel be pleased to hear your poetry." She couldn't look at him anymore without feeling the pain of her imminent loss, so she turned and searched out the point on the wall.

"I will wait for you, Trynity, if it is your wish that I not return. And if I must wait an eternity for you to come to me, then I will." He paused for a moment, then he said, "I will always love you, Trynity, no matter how long it takes for you to feel again what I do and always have. I will be there for you."

She continued to stare at the wall long after he left. Trynity felt as if her soul had been sucked out of her and she had been powerless to stop it. She didn't feel worthy of Duo's love anymore, no matter what he believed. 

Thankfully, she fell into a deep slumber, which was undisturbed for the first time since she had regained consciousness. But she awakened when the door opened. Trynity realized she had slept the rest of the day and into the following morning. Although she still felt miserable, the rest had done her some good. She hoped the nurses who must have ignored her room during the night were now coming to clean up.

"Well, you've screwed up my chance to see another galaxy."

"Gramps!" She recognized Stryfe's voice. At least he had some sensitivity.

Although she would prefer to wallow in her self-pity alone, Trynity turned to look at the other two men in her life. "Aren't visiting hours over?"

"They just started, pumpkin." Her father set a vase of red roses by the window. "These were outside the door."

Duo must have left them, she thought, though roses really weren't his style. No, he would leave a mangled bouquet of thistles, but since there were none on L12, he had to settle with roses because they had thorns.

"Mom, you don't look too well." Stryfe picked up the bedpan and disappeared into the bathroom. He returned with a washcloth to mop up.

"There are nurses to do that," commented Trynity. She hated to see Stryfe cleaning up after her as if she were a helpless invalid.

"I know. But the babe who was headed here to take care of you agreed to go out with me tonight, so I'm trying to score a few gratitude points." He grinned at her, and she realized just how much he reminded her of Duo. 

Unable to bear the resemblance, she turned on her side. But instead of her safe spot on the wall, she saw her father standing with his arms crossed and his shaggy brows wriggling. "Father, I would like more rest."

"Nonsense. What you need is to get out of that bed. The doctor didn't say anything about your legs not working."

Trynity turned angrily away from him and watched Stryfe tidying up her room. "I would like both of you to leave."

Stryfe picked up the cup on the table beside the bed. "What's this?" He held up what appeared to be a chain. Trynity instantly recognized the charm dangling from the end.

Her father chuckled. "I haven't seen that for many years! Where have you been hiding that?"

Trynity hadn't seen it for many years either, not since the day Duo had left her almost eighteen years ago and she had ripped it off and thrown it in the docking bay of the transport. Relena must have picked it up. But Relena hadn't left it behind. 

She reached out to take it from Stryfe. Her fingers were shaking so badly that she couldn't unclasp it. Chuckling, her father took it from her and put it around her neck.

"I didn't say I wanted it on," she muttered although she felt a safe comfort in touching the golden scythe. As she did, she could almost recapture the innocence of her youth when Duo had given it to her."When are you getting out of here?" asked Stryfe as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"Tomorrow," she said without thinking.

"Too bad. There are a few more nurses I was hoping to make the acquaintance of. Say, Quynn doesn't have a roommate since hers bailed on her last week. Maybe you'd want to move into her place until you decide what you want to do."

Trynity knew she had those types of decisions to make. She was tired of the hospital already after only two days. As a doctor she didn't care for it; as a patient she

hated it. "I suppose I can stay with Quynn if she doesn't mind my getting under foot."

"Gramps is staying with me," said Stryfe. "And he _is_ getting in the way. Too bad Lord Duo didn't take him with him."

"I thought he might offer," grumbled Dr. Stryfe. "But he didn't."

Trynity glanced at Stryfe. "Did you see them off?"

"Quynn and I both did. He would like us to visit him when we have vacation time." Stryfe rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to see his grand palace, and Taeron promised to show me around. I have a few weeks free in six months when my tour of duty is half completed. Can I count on you coming with me, mom?"

She shook her head. "I can't. But I'm glad you're making plans to visit him."

"He just wants a chance to study Calabrian women," grunted his grandfather.

They stayed for another half-hour, bantering back and forth, discussing the scrolls that had been lost to the fire. Stryfe was eager to see the places mentioned in the scrolls although his grandfather reminded him that they were purely myth. She was glad when they left because she was starting to feel overwhelmed by their cheery mood. Later her doctor visited to tell her she was free to leave but that the staff was hoping she would work at the infirmary when she regained her strength. She had nothing else to do, so she agreed. They would make her do most of the work while they perfected their golf games, but she didn't care as long as she could keep her mind off what had happened.

The following day she got out of bed, and despite her weak muscles, she dressed herself and waited for Quynn to stop by as she promised she would. The nurse brought by another bouquet of red roses just as Quynn walked in still wearing her flight suit.

"Sorry, mom, but I'm pulling another shift." She stopped to pick up a rose to breathe in its fragrance. "Somebody is very thoughtful and very sweet."

"If you're in a hurry, I suggest we get going." Trynity left the roses behind. She didn't want to think of Duo at all because there such thoughts only made her heart ache and her eyes burn with tears.

When she arrived at Quynn's small apartment she discovered the reason her roommate had moved out. Trynity had to wade through the books, papers and clothing, both clean and dirty to get to the couch. She was about to scold Quynn for her sloppy behavior when her daughter waved and shut the door behind her as she left. 

After taking a short nap, Trynity was in the process of cleaning the apartment when the doorbell rang. She went to the door, but she paused before opening it. Quynn had an optical identifier, so Trynity checked the data to find that Relena was waiting impatiently in the hall. She didn't want to be nagged, but she let Relena in anyway.

"I can't believe you are staying here!" Relena looked around the small apartment in disgust. "Do you even have a bedroom?"

"Quynn is letting me have the bedroom and she will sleep on the couch until I find a bigger place."

Relena shoved a pile of magazines Trynity had collected and placed on the couch onto the floor before she sat. "I brought some of the things you left at my place. Chaz! Bring them in here now!"

Trynity hadn't realized her son was with her. Chaz walked in with a box. "Sorry to disturb you, Trynity, but mom…"

"Stop sucking up to her to get to Quynn! She's not here anyway."

Chaz' face turned a dark shade of red, then he placed the box on a table before walking out and returning with a vase filled with red roses. "These were in the hall."

Relena laughed as Trynity took them and put them on the kitchen counter. "Whoever would have thought that Duo Maxwell could be that romantic?" She caught Chaz trying to sneak out. "Don't forget to pick your sister up from her ballet lesson." She turned her attention back to Trynity who resumed picking up the room. There was nothing particularly filthy about the apartment. Quynn just didn't clean up after herself.

"I would love to help you find a place to live. I can't believe you are going to settle on L12!" Relena clapped her hands together. "We can go shopping, have lunch together…"

"Don't get your hopes up. I might decide to return to Earth with my father when his sabbatical from the academy comes to an end." Trynity opened Quynn's closet, then closed it quickly before the avalanche could begin. Apparently she should not upset the delicate balance of her daughter's living space.

"You won't return to Earth! It would take weeks for Duo to follow you there."

"Duo isn't coming back for me," she told Relena. "I told him it was over in no uncertain terms." Trynity was confident that Duo wouldn't seek her out. The ball was in her court and she had no intention of returning it. She couldn't imagine being intimate with him after what Quatre had done to her. Duo deserved to be happy, and she was not the one who could bring that about.

"I see you are wearing his necklace," remarked Relena slyly.

Trynity reached up to touch it. "I found it on the table next to my bed at the infirmary. You wouldn't know how it got there?"

"I picked it up that day – I had a hell of a time finding it - and had it repaired. I was going to give it back to you, but you married Lars and I didn't want to bring up painful memories. When Duo showed up, I gave it back to him."

So Duo left it by her bed. Trynity saw that Relena was smiling at her, so she quickly took her hand away from the scythe. "It doesn't change anything."

"Don't even think about returning to Earth! You belong in space. You and I both know exactly where, but you won't admit it." Relena stood. "I would send my maids over here if I didn't think they would quit in protest."

"I need something to keep me occupied anyway."

Relena reached out to take her hands and she held them tight when Trynity would have pulled them away. "We are friends, Trynity. I will listen if you want to talk."

Trynity wished Relena wouldn't touch her. "There is nothing I want to discuss with you." She remained stiff as Relena hugged her.

"I really must get going. Chaz isn't going to pick Shaina up from her lesson - that is, if she actually went. I will just have to check up on them, then visit Heero for lunch. Let's get together tomorrow and look for places for you to live."

After she had gone, Trynity returned to her cleaning. By the time Quynn returned, her apartment was neat and organized, but her daughter was too tired to notice. While Quynn showered and changed, Trynity put a meal on the table so that it was waiting for her when she finished.

Quynn took one bite then remarked, "You didn't cook this."

Trynity smiled. "I ordered it."

"Can you afford it, because I certainly can't."

Trynity couldn't either, but she didn't tell Quynn.

"I didn't think so." Quynn pushed the food around on her plate. "The place looks nice, but you didn't have to clean."

"To live here? I think so." Trynity didn't have an appetite, so she sat across the table from her daughter simply staring at her plate.

Quynn didn't speak either and took only an occasional bite of food. Finally, she pushed herself away from the table and said, "I should get some sleep. I have an early day tomorrow."

"I would have thought you'd have plans with Chaz," commented Trynity. She cleared the table as Quynn transformed the couch into her bed by tossing a sheet and blanket over it.

"I don't make plans with Chaz." Quynn changed into an oversized tee shirt and sat on the couch. She put her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands. "I know Chaz likes me, probably more than he should, but I don't feel anything special when I'm with him."

Trynity busied herself with washing the dishes. She didn't want to have a conversation with Quynn about her love life.

"Isn't there supposed to be some sort of spark?" continued Quynn. "Chaz is a gorgeous guy, but I just don't feel the heavens open up when he kisses me. I can't encourage him when there is nothing there."

"I think I will go to bed. I did a lot of work today and I might go to the infirmary tomorrow to make a little money." Trynity headed to the bedroom.

"I get it," said Quynn with a laugh. "You don't want to talk."

Trynity stopped at the door of the bedroom and turned to look at her daughter. "I gave you some very bad advice about men, Quynn. I'm not about to try again."

"I don't blame you, mom, for what happened with Malik. I liked how I felt when I was with him, so I trusted him. That was a stupid mistake I hope I never make again." Quynn settled under her blanket. "Good night, mom. I hope you feel better tomorrow."

After a night of disturbing dreams, Trynity did not feel better, but she forced herself to go through the day. When she finally found the courage, she returned to the infirmary where she paid a visit to the children's ward. The flowers Relena had taken there were still decorating the nurse's station and several of the sicker children had been given bouquets. Seeing the wilting red roses in one little girl's room reminded Trynity of the roses she had found outside Quynn's apartment that morning. Did Duo think reminding her everyday of his feelings was going to change how she felt?

That afternoon she spent in Relena's company hunting for an apartment. She felt strange about finding her own place to live, and she was unsure of what she wanted, but she knew she didn't need the Jacuzzi that Relena insisted upon. They had lunch together in the quadrant central canteen, and Trynity was uncomfortable with so many people around. Before the meal was over, she caught a glimpse of a man with long, blond hair and panic rose so quickly that she hyperventilated and fainted. When she came around, she felt very foolish to have paramedics checking her pulse and giving her oxygen.

"You gave me a scare!" snapped Relena after the paramedics had gone and the crowd dispersed.

"I want to go home." Trynity was embarrassed, and yet she still felt frightened. The man hadn't been Quatre! He was incarcerated on a transport somewhere between L12 and L11. It couldn't have been him!

That night she had a nightmare that Quatre had managed to bribe his way out of the charges and returned for her. When she awoke, she was drenched with sweat and her heart was racing. She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes as if she could block out the memory of him touching her and kissing her, the weight of his body on hers. She stumbled to the bathroom where she turned on the shower and stood under the cold water. When she finally stepped out, she was shivering, and although she had scrubbed herself, she still felt filthy. A towel seemed to come from no where, and she looked up as Quynn rubbed her with it. 

"That was a pretty long shower, mom. I hope you left some hot water for me. You're freezing!" She wrapped the towel around her. "If I were you, I think I would have taken off my nightgown before I took the shower."

Trynity didn't say anything as Quynn helped her back to her room and into dry clothing. Quynn didn't speak either until she had tucked Trynity back into her bed. 

"I suppose you're not going to tell me what brought that on." Quynn shrugged. "I can guess. I had a tough time after what Malik did to me, but Duo and Apolo helped me through it. Maybe you should have gone with Duo."

Trynity shook her head. "I couldn't do that."

"You could have, you just chose not to go."

"Our situations are different!" 

"Why? Because he raped you? Hey, there's something just a little bit disturbing about a guy getting off by sucking blood out of your body! I think my womanly pride suffered a little that he wasn't all that interested in the sex."

"How can you joke about it?" snapped Trynity.

Quynn grimaced. "Because I have put it into perspective, mom. I am still alive."

"Well I can't be as grateful as you that I am."

"I am grateful that you are alive, and so are a lot of other people, but I think Duo is more than anyone."

"Save your breath, Quynn. I'm not going to be with him. Now get out and let me go back to sleep." Trynity turned on her side away from her daughter.

Quynn decided to let the issue drop, so she grabbed some of her clothes and went to the shower. Trynity lay awake in the dark, staring at the window as the rays from the colony's simulated sunrise broke over the quadrant. Quynn left for work early, and Trynity got up soon after. She wasn't surprised to see the roses Quynn had set inside.

By late afternoon, Trynity had moved to one of the apartments she had visited with Relena. Relena had dismissed it immediately as a dump, but Trynity liked it because it was closer to the infirmary and far from both Relena and Quynn. She wanted to be alone, so she left Quynn a note explaining that she was all right and if she wanted to get in touch with her she could do so at the infirmary. Trynity needed time to herself to digest what had happened to her and find some way to cope with it.

Although Relena and Quynn meant well, Trynity had no intention of sharing with them what Quatre had done. They could hardly be able to understand how she had suffered. He claimed to love her, had loved her secretly for many years. When he could no longer bear to see her with Lars, he enlisted Malik to kill him, thinking that Trynity would turn to him in her loneliness. Quatre couldn't understand why she hadn't, so he had blamed the clinic, then Duo Maxwell, and he finally took them both away. Even if he didn't kill Duo, she couldn't be with him without thinking about the things Quatre had done to her. And she would wonder if he were thinking about it too.

On her way out the door after her first night in the apartment, Trynity almost tripped over the roses left outside the door. She stared at them incredulously, then furiously as she imagined the infirmary giving out her address to the florist when she had specifically told them not to. She managed to get her anger under control by the time she reached the infirmary. Assigned to the emergency room in the morning and the pediatric ward in the afternoon, Trynity put the incident out of her mind. 

After work she stopped at a coffee shop for a sandwich. While she was sipping from her mug, her attention was drawn to the window where she saw a man turning and walking away. The cup slipped from her hands, and she gripped the edge of the table to regain control. The waitress hurried to her table to mop up the spill and take the broken pieces of the mug away. Trynity left the table and stepped out the door to look both ways down the busy sidewalk, but she didn't see the man with long, blond hair. She was almost certain he was the same man she had seen when she was with Relena.

Trynity returned home and was glad that she didn't have to make any small talk with Quynn. Quynn hadn't contacted her during the following days so Trynity concluded that she was angry about her flight. Relena left her a message inquiring about her, and Trynity quickly returned her call to let her know that she was all right, that she just wanted time to herself.

The following days passed uneventfully unless the routine arrival of the roses could be considered an event. Trynity took them to work and left them with patients who didn't seem to have a family visiting. They might annoy Trynity, but they brought joy to others. Quynn sent her a note saying she missed her and she should drop by some time. Trynity spent as much of her time as possible at the infirmary so that she was so exhausted and distracted when she returned home that she didn't notice her loneliness. 

Her father even had to make an appointment to see her, although he couldn't be healthier. He complained about his living arrangement with Stryfe, and when she suggested that he return to work on Earth, he informed him that he was waiting on L12 for Prince Zieben to arrive. King Miliardo had bestowed upon him the honor of being a part of his son's escort to Calabria.

"The trip would go a lot smoother if we had someone with us who could speak Calabrian," he hinted.

She glared at him. "Father, when was the last time you had your prostate examined?"

He stood quickly. "I just remembered another appointment."

Sighing, she took a paper and scribbled her address on it, then handed him a key. "I'm not doing this for me or for you. And if you get on my nerves, father, I will kick your ass out of my apartment. I'm giving Stryfe a break. You're probably putting a cramp in his extra-curricular activities."

"Well, there were one or two of his young lady friends who seemed to prefer my considerable maturity."

Despite herself, she laughed. "I'll see you later, father."

He kissed the top of her head although she tried to avoid it. "I'll have a little something cooked up, pumpkin, so don't stop anywhere to eat."

She took the light rail car home that evening. During the ride, she had the feeling that someone was staring at her, and she turned around once to see a little boy with his mother, an old woman knitting, and another person reading the newspaper. She looked back at the stack of files on her lap, but that feeling did not go away. At the next stop, the old woman got off, and two blocks further down the street, the mother and her son got off, moving to the front door of the light rail car. At the same time, she heard the back door opening, and she turned to see that the person reading the paper had been a man, and his hair was long and blond.

Trynity jumped to her feet and hurried to the back door to follow, but the doors closed and the light rail car lurched forward. She stared at the back of the man, convinced that her eyes were playing tricks on her. When the light rail car was at the end of the block, the man tucked the newspaper under his arm and turned back.

Gasping, she stumbled back.

It was Quatre Winner! Trynity hurried back to her seat to grab her things, but she stopped when she saw a torn piece of the newspaper he had been reading. With a trembling hand she picked it up and read: RESOURCE TYCOON TO FACE CHARGES ON EARTH. The paper slipped from her trembling hand to the floor.

She dropped weakly on the seat and covered her face with her hands, then took several deep breaths to calm her nerves. By the time the light rail car arrived at her stop, she was able to convince herself that it was coincidence. The man could not possibly have been Quatre Winner. If her father thought there was something wrong, he didn't say so, and after supper - he actually was a good cook - he pointed out several boxes that had arrived from her clinic on the Mars Colony. Trynity spent the rest of the evening trying to organize her papers, many badly damaged from the fire. Fortunately the disks on her computer were salvaged as well.

"I am very grateful that my work was saved," she told her father.

Dr. Stryfe snorted. "I would have let it burn, were it up to me, but Maxwell wouldn't give up. I think you should show your gratitude to him and his over-zealous son."

"I don't want to discuss Duo Maxwell with you."

"How would that be different from before?" He chuckled. "Besides, I enjoy getting up your dander."

She ignored him as she pulled out another handful of papers and recognized the readings she had taking on Shamara's brain activity. She had gotten so distracted with her personal problems that she had forgotten the research she had been doing on her Guerani powers, particularly when she was in the process of healing. Now she had plenty of time to study them again and compare them to her own. She decided that she would take up that research again and maybe she could unlock the secret to Guerani healing.

The following day she didn't see the blond man, so she took it as a good sign. That night she was invited to Relena's for dinner and was surprised to realize it was her birthday. All her friends and family had gathered to celebrate. She felt uncomfortable at first, but after a few glasses of wine, she was able to remain at the party without the urge to bolt for the door and hide in her apartment. There was a small band, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres before a huge meal. After dinner there was dancing on the patio, but Trynity declined all offers to dance, preferring to watch from the side with a glass of champagne.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" asked Heero who had come to stand beside her.

She smiled and sipped the champagne. "How can I not? Relena must have gone all out. But I am not sure I like being reminded how close to forty I am getting."

"You're a very attractive woman for thirty-six. In case you hadn't noticed, there are several men who are eager for your attention, not the least Kurt Duran. Wufei had planned to be here, but he is getting ready for a trial. He sends his best wishes."

After all Wufei's ramblings about justice, he had become a trial lawyer and finally a judge on L11. His caseload wasn't all that challenging being that L11 was a resort colony, but he seemed to enjoy his work. Hearing of Wufei's trial and L11 reminded Trynity of her strange encounters. She felt silly bringing them up to Heero, but he listened with a sympathetic ear.

"Are you sure that he is on that transport?" she asked when she had finished. "Could you call the transport to double check?"

"I would do it to reassure you, Trynity, but I can't. You know as well as I do that there is an asteroid belt between here and L11 that jams signals. I won't be able to contact the transport until it stops to refuel at L11."

She drained her glass and set it aside. "It seems unlikely that such a high profile man like Quatre Winner could escape without causing a media furor..."

"You just need a little time to recover. Have you discussed it with your doctor or your psychiatrist? I think Kurt is more than willing to help you any way he can."

She smiled at Heero. "Thank you."

He raised his brows. "For what?"

"For not mentioning you-know-who."

"I don't need to." He nodded toward the table where gifts had been placed of her and it was heavily laden with red roses. "They arrived this afternoon."

She sighed and grabbed another glass of champagne from a passing waiter. "I thought he had heard me, and from what he said, I assumed he wasn't going to pester me."

"Some women might find it romantic."

"I'm beginning to think it a little depraved." She looked over the dancers and saw Stryfe appeasing the adoring twelve-year-old Shaina Yuy with a dance while Chaz danced with a young woman other than Quynn. Her own group of admirers surrounded Quynn. "I think our hopes of joining our families have hit the skids."

"Yes," replied Heero, "Chaz told us that he was no longer dating Quynn and Relena hit the ceiling. She has found some way to blame me."

"According to Quynn, there was no chemistry between them. Relena seems to be enjoying herself anyway, despite the blow to her grand plans."

"She was hoping to arrange a wedding in the near future."

"God help the colony. None of her schemes ever turns out right. Some disaster befalls every event."

Heero chuckled. "None of it is actually her fault, but she does have the worst luck."

"Are you talking about me?" Relena came to them and slipped her arm around Heero's waist.

"We were discussing your disastrous extravaganzas," answered Trynity.

"I think this one is going rather well. I hope you're not too disappointed about Quynn and Chaz breaking up, but Chaz just didn't have deep feelings for Quynn."

Heero and Trynity exchanged amused glances that Relena did not see. "How about Stryfe and Shaina?"

"I doubt Stryfe wants to wait around for Shaina to grow up," commented Heero.

"They make a cute couple," continued Relena, ignoring Heero's remark. She sighed. "Unfortunately, the age difference may pose a problem. By the time she is old enough, he'll probably have already married and have children of his own."

"Is it time to blow out the candles on this cake?" called out Dr. Stryfe from across the room.

"My God! What is he going to do with those matches?" Relena flew across the room like a hurricane. "You're not going to wreck my party, Ivan Stryfe. Give me those matches!"

Trynity laughed with Heero and they followed Relena. Relena managed to wrestle the matches from him and carefully lit the candles. Everyone joined the band with a chorus of the birthday song, and then Trynity blew out all the candles. As Trynity was cutting the cake, the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be? All the guests are here." Relena crossed the room where her butler was opening the door.

A young man in a uniform waited with a package. "I have a special delivery for Dr. Trynity Nelson."

Trynity set aside the knife and walked to the door to take the package. She opened it and found a large velvet covered box.

"I know what that means," said Relena slyly. "Open it! I want to see just how rich Duo Maxwell is."

Trynity touched the necklace at her throat. She didn't want to open the box, but with Relena goading her and a crowd drawing near, she unhooked the latch and lifted the lid. The huge diamonds of the necklace, earrings and bracelet winked up at her and drew a collective gasp from the people who had come to see. She lifted the necklace and found it heavy. Trynity could not ever imagine wearing such a thing. What had Duo been thinking when he bought it? Did he hope to impress her with his wealth?

The deliveryman was waiting yet and Trynity realized he was holding a card. Heero shoved a few bills in his hand and took the card to give to Trynity. She pushed the necklace at Relena who appreciated it much more than she ever would, then took a few steps away to peel open the envelope. The card was decorated by hand, and there was something oddly familiar about the border of leafy vines and flowers. When she opened the card, she saw first the heart with an arrow through, drawn with almost professional skill. But where she expected Duo's signature, she saw an Arabic symbol that she recognized as the number four.

A wave of cold whooshed through her followed by hot, and she lost all ability to breathe. Heero caught her before she fell on the floor, and he took the note from her hand. Looking at it, he muttered, "That bastard!" then pulled a gun from under his evening jacket and launched himself at the deliveryman. Women shrieked at the sight of his gun and impending violence, and the men stumbled away. There was a stampede for the closet where the butler was handing out coats and jackets with remarkable efficiency. This wasn't the first quick exit from a Yuy get together. 

Heero tackled the deliveryman and shoved the barrel of his gun almost up his nose. "Unless you want to blow your nose from the back of your head, I suggest you tell me who sent this."

"I don't know! This is just a job! Please don't kill me! I only make ten bucks an hour plus tips." Heero cocked his pistol and the man screamed. "I swear, I don't know!" His hand was shaking as he produced a receipt.

Heero swiped it from him, then hauled him to his feet by the collar and tossed him into the elevator. He was joined by a dozen of their guests.

"My God, Heero, did you have to ruin Trynity's party!" Relena was beside herself with anger.

Quynn picked up the now crumpled note, and frowning she passed it to Relena. "Heero didn't ruin your party."

Relena looked at the note then quickly dropped the diamonds in her hand. "I can't believe the gall of that man! How did he manage this when he's locked up on his way to prison?"

"He's not on that transport!" blurted Trynity. She was shivering and her father came to put his jacket over her shoulders. By now only the immediate family was left and she didn't care if they heard her crazy ramblings. "I've seen him here! On L12. He's following me!"

"Mom! Get a grip! He's not on L12. I saw them load the bastard onto the transport. Trust me, he was shackled and heavily guarded. If he had tried to escape, they would have zapped him good."

"I know what I saw and that necklace proves it!"

Heero handed the receipt to Trynity. "He arranged this a year ago tomorrow."

She stared at the date and saw that Heero was right.

"You mean he was planning this that long ago?" demanded Quynn angrily. "Him and Dorothy and Malik were at mom's party last year! He danced with mom! I remember Pops joking about what a nice couple they made!" Quynn burst into tears and Stryfe hugged her close.

"If it will make you feel any better, I'll assign someone to watch you," suggested Heero.

Trynity stared at the receipt, and she felt memories trying to surface, memories she didn't want to acknowledge. She shook her head. "I don't want your men watching me." She looked at the jewels. "I don't want that! Get rid of it!"

"They are worth a fortune," said Heero. "I think you would be better off selling it and using the money for your future."

"Fine!" She reached out to grab the box. "I guess I earned it!"

Heero took it back from her. "I will find a use for it."

The proceeds of the sale of the jewelry were donated to a newly created fund in memory of Lars Nelson supporting refugees from the Mars Colony. Homeless families were given money and housing to start a new life on L12 or to return to Mars Colony. Although Trynity still felt the money was tainted, she couldn't complain about the use. Lars would probably laugh that his name was being used for such a noble cause.

Trynity couldn't put the incident of the party out of her mind, but it was difficult. Although Heero insisted that Quatre was incarcerated on the transport to Earth, she could not get over the feeling that she was being watched. Quynn was still very upset to learn how long Quatre Winner had been planning to destroy their family. It was as if she had lost her father all over. Trynity told herself that she had not been the cause, that she had not encouraged Quatre, and yet she replayed in her mind every exchange with him that she could remember. Quatre seemed to have become obsessed with her even when she was at Seaside Lab, and Trynity had never guessed his true feelings.

She decided to stop obsessing over the problem and keep herself busy at work. As she did her rounds in the children's ward each day, she collected data about the parts of her brain that she used to treat them as opposed to those she used to treat adults. She learned that she had more empathy for the children, but then Trynity already knew that. Many doctors didn't want to treat children because it was too stressful, but Trynity felt more accomplishment in ailing their hurts. She loved children.

While she was at the infirmary, she realized that she was starting to see Kurt Duran more than she ever had. He seemed to materialize out of no where when she was free. Trynity couldn't remember the last time she had a table to herself in the hospital canteen. She liked him, but she wasn't attracted to him at all, so when he asked her to attend the ballet with him, she hesitated before accepting. Immediately after she berated herself for her stupidity. Not only was she going on a date with a man she wasn't the least interested in, but she would be suffering through the ballet which she utterly disliked. And she didn't have anything suitable to wear.

Unfortunately she made the next mistake in confiding in Relena, and Relena was all too delighted to take her shopping. They met Quynn for lunch, and Trynity cringed when she saw her daughter wearing her eye-grabbing red flight suit in the elegant restaurant Relena had chosen.

"I only have an hour," snapped Quynn when Relena scolded her for her attire. "I'm not wasting it taking this damn thing off."

"I don't know why you insist on wearing it!" snapped Relena.

"I would rather we didn't spend lunch squabbling," said Trynity as she signaled the waiter. He brought a menu, and Trynity decided on seafood pasta, which she recommended to Quynn. But her daughter ordered a burger and fries.

"I just wanted to see the look on his face," laughed Quynn when Trynity frowned.

"You behave as if you've been brought up by trailer trash," grumbled Relena. "Who would guess you have had the best education, that you are the daughter of professional parents…"

"Yadda, yadda, yadda." Quynn stuck out her tongue at Relena. "I can behave when I want to."

"That's the problem," lamented Trynity. "You just don't want to."

"I didn't hear Lord Duo complaining when I was acting as lady of his palace. In fact, he got one or two offers from his warlords for my hand in marriage."

"That is exactly what you need: a Calabrian husband!" Relena laughed. "You'd be black and blue within a week."

"Prince Amyr wanted to beat me on sight!" Quynn laughed. "What a prick! He's worse than Taeron."

"Quynn," warned Trynity in a low voice. "Please watch your language."

Relena looked at Trynity. "Do you remember that brute that wanted to sell you and me at the market? What was his name? Anyway, we were quite lucky Lady Virineia killed him."

"I don't care to talk about it." Trynity's memories of Calabria consisted of vomiting and sleeping when she wasn't dealing with Duo's insecurities. At that time she could not have imagined the strange turn their lives had taken. Now she was the one with the insecurities.

"Calabria is very different," said Quynn. "At least so says Lord Duo. Say, mom, are the roses still coming to your place? It's been a month since he left."

"I think Duo Maxwell must have a bottomless money pouch," commented Relena with a lift to her brows. "I always thought he was destined to live out of a cardboard box."

"If you saw his palace…"

Trynity stood. "You will have to excuse me. I would like to visit the ladies' room. Please go on with your meeting of the Lord Duo Fan Club."

As she was walking away, she heard Relena say, "She can't hold out forever."

"I don't think he can either. They'll probably pass each other in the wormhole."

Annoyed by their remarks, she bumped into someone in the dark corridor leading to the restroom. Her purse dropped on the floor, and as she leaned down to pick it up, the other person brushed against her, touching her almost intimately before continuing on their way. Trynity straightened to apologize, but the words stuck in her throat when she caught a glimpse of long blond hair disappearing into the men's room.

Trembling so badly she could barely walk, she ducked quickly into the ladies' room and stumbled through the powder room into the lavatory. Throwing her back against the wall, she waited fearfully, frightened that he would follow her inside. Her heart was racing, and a sweat had broken out over her forehead. She managed to calm her breathing; she didn't want to cause another scene, but she waited several anxious moments, alert for any sound in the powder room. A woman talking to another person entered, then the outer door closed and the conversation ended. Trynity breathed a sigh of relief before moving to the sink to splash her face with cold water. 

When she finished, she looked at herself in the mirror. "Don't be ridiculous! He's not here! He is on the transport close to L11 by now."

By the time she returned to the table, she was much calmer, but she ordered a strong drink to take the edge of the lingering apprehension that Quatre was in the restaurant. As she sipped from her drink, she looked around, but did not see him.

"What's the problem, mom?" asked Quynn as she dipped a couple of fries in ketchup and popped them in her mouth.

"Why don't you stop nagging your mother?" Relena was cutting her steak, and Trynity wondered why her meal had not been delivered to the table in her absence. 

The waiter stopped to place a cup of soup and a Caesar salad. "Enjoy your meal, doctor."

She looked at the meal, then back to waiter. "I didn't order this."

He apologized, then quickly left to find out the reason for the mistake, and he returned with the bill. "Your husband changed your order. He said you didn't feel like pasta today."

"My husband!" Trynity gripped the edge of the table, remembering how Quatre had ordered for her at the cafe on Mars.

Relena and Quynn stopped eating to look at her. Relena spoke when Trynity couldn't find the words. She was thinking of the man she had bumped into. Now she was sure he had bumped into her, that he had touched her deliberately, that it had been Quatre. 

"Do you see a man at this table?" Relena snarled at the waiter. "I think you waited on us, and did you see one then?"

The waiter was clearly flustered. "He arrived late, and he said he had spoken to her at the powder room."

"What did he look like?" demanded Quynn, gripping her butter knife.

The waiter stared at the table orders for a moment, then sighed. "I am so sorry, doctor, but I have the wrong table." He motioned to another table where a man and woman were sitting. She was looking at the pasta salad with bemusement. The waiter quickly gathered the soup and salad and took them to her table and brought Trynity's order to her.

"I am so sorry for the mix-up."

"You had better be sorry!" Relena waved to the maitre d' although Trynity grabbed her wrist.

"Forget it!"

"Is there a problem?" The maitre d' looked from Relena to the terrified waiter.

"I'll say there's a problem," started Relena, but Trynity interrupted.

"There is no problem except that my glass is empty."

"Mom!" hissed Quynn. "You're not going to have another drink!"

The waiter refilled her glass with a grateful look, and both he and the maitre d' left.

"No tip for that jackass," said Relena.

"Do I need to scold you about your language?" Trynity drained the glass quickly then pushed it aside. She was just tipsy enough to make it through the meal without imagining Quatre watching her from some dark corner of the restaurant.

After lunch, Quynn returned to work while Relena took Trynity to a shop specializing in designer formal wear. Trynity insisted she couldn't afford such a gown, but Relena reminded her that without the Mars Colony dragging her income down, she would have plenty. The shop would certainly extend credit to her. So Trynity spent the remainder of the afternoon trying on gowns and modeling them for Relena who lounged in a stuffed armchair sipping champagne and nibbling on strawberries. 

According to the salesclerks, Trynity looked stunning in the red, gorgeous in the dark blue, magnificent in green, and just to test them she put on a flouncy pink that made her look like a washed out prostitute. Trynity secretly liked the color, but she knew how it made her look, so she had avoided it until Lars suggested she wear the color under her clothing. That way he could truly say he liked her in pink. The young sales clerks seemed to be a loss for words until one remarked that she was absolutely astonishing. Relena burst into laughter and Trynity caught herself smiling. Together they decided on a midnight blue gown, and found the matching accessories. 

They took the purchases to the counter, and Trynity asked for a credit application, but the young woman ringing up the purchases insisted it wasn't necessary.

"Your gown has already been paid for, and the gentleman left behind enough to pay for everything you have chosen."

Trynity wondered what customer had been watching their little fashion show. She certainly couldn't accept a gift like this from a complete stranger, and she told the sales clerk just that.

"He thought you might say that." She picked up a card and handed it to Trynity. "He said you would understand.

She took the card and caught her breath. Under an Arabic numeral four was scribbled a phone number. Trynity steadied herself against the counter, then forced a smile to her lips. "I can't accept his gift, and I will tell him so myself."

Relena slapped a credit card on the counter and tried to snatch the card from Trynity, but she quickly tucked it inside her blouse. "So! Are you going to tell me?"

"Later. Right now I want to get back to the infirmary. Although I'm not scheduled to work, I wasn't planning to be gone this long and there are a couple of children I promised to read a story to. I don't want to disappoint them."

Relena suddenly smiled. "I get it! Kurt must have followed us here. How thoughtful! I'd let him pay for it!"

"When did you become such a gold-digger?" asked Trynity. She wished she hadn't tucked the card in her blouse because the feel of it against her skin was beginning to nauseate her. If Quatre were here, watching her, he would enjoy knowing where his card was wedged.

"I'm digging gold for you." Relena hooked her arm around Trynity's. "We need to do this more often," she said as they left the shop. The sales clerk told her it would be delivered to her home that evening. "I'm afraid that when you go to Calabria, I will never see you again."

Trynity disengaged her arm from Relena. "I think you've had too much to drink. Do you think I am going to run after Duo Maxwell?"

"Yes," said Relena without a pause to think about her answer.

Her heart already broken; Trynity didn't need everyone reminding her of what she had lost. "I'm going back to work."

"Do you want me to stop by to do your hair tomorrow night?"

"Not likely." Trynity walked away, quickly losing Relena in the crowd of shoppers. When she was far enough away, she dug her phone from her handbag, then reached into her blouse to pull out the card. She had to dial three times before she got it right because her fingers were shaking. She heard the phone on the other end ringing then a series of clicks before a voice answered.

"That was very quick, sweetheart."

Trynity squeezed her eyes shut and leaned against the side of a building. An image of Quatre Winner appeared, and she quickly opened her eyes. "Who are you?"

"You know who I am. I must say that I agree with your choice for an evening gown, Trynity. I am going to enjoy seeing you in it."

Trynity pressed some numbers on the phone and looked at the screen for a reading and received none.

The man on the phone laughed. "You are trying to trace my call! You don't disappoint me, my dear, but I must warn you that it is a waste of time."

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" she demanded angrily.

"I want to hold you in my arms, my sweet, and peel away that expensive gown to see your lacy hot pink under things."

Trynity pressed the button to hang up the phone. She felt the beginning of a panic attack, and she was desperately trying to control it when her phone began to ring. She took it and smashed it on the ground, and ignoring the curious stares of those around her, she hurried away, then ducked into an alley where waited until the trembling stopped and she was able to think coherently again.

Instead of returning to the infirmary, she went to Heero's office. His secretary showed her in right away, and before Heero had a chance to greet her, she put the card in his hand.

"Have you heard from the prisoner transport?" she demanded.

He looked at the card frowning. "Relena already told me what happened at the shop." His eyes met her. "Did you call? If you did, you are playing right into this person's hands."

"It's Quatre!" Although she was embarrassed to do so, she repeated what he had said. "Who else would know such a thing? Did you?"

Heero shook his head. "You're not being rational, Trynity. In answer to your first question, I just called your phone to tell you that I did make contact with the transport, but I couldn't reach you."

Trynity had been sure Quatre was calling her back. "What did you find out?"

"Quatre is on that ship, Trynity. Other than bragging that he is going to get out of any charges brought against him, he has been polite to a fault."

"It's not him!" Trynity stared to pace, wringing her hands.

Heero grabbed her shoulders and forced her to sit in a chair, then dropped to a knee before her to look her in the eye. "You have to accept that this person is not Quatre. But I do believe someone may be trying to harm you."

"I heard his voice," she insisted. "I have seen him!"

"He is on L11 right now and will be on his way to refueling at L10 in another two weeks." Heero brushed curls away from her face. "I think you have tried to do too much too soon. Are you getting any kind of help for what happened to you?"

She shoved him away and stood. "I don't need any one's help! What I need is for you to believe me!"

Trynity knew she wasn't crazy, and everyone else was wrong. Quatre Winner was there, on L12!


	26. Stalked by evil

****

Colony L12

Although it was quite late in the afternoon when she returned to the infirmary, Trynity went straight to the children's ward where she gathered the children together and read them several books. After she finished reading to the children, she ran into Kurt Duran, something she was doing quite a bit lately.

"I haven't seen you all day!" He was smiling at her. "How about a movie?"

She looked at him, ready to refuse, and then decided she would rather not be alone. "Give me a few minutes and I'll meet you out front."

He was obviously very delighted, and during the evening he was polite in the extreme. His red sportscar was somewhat pretentious, but then Kurt didn't have a wife or children, so he could afford to waste his money on playthings. Trynity was glad she went out with him because she discovered he wasn't an unpleasant date. They had a drink afterwards and he escorted her to the door of her apartment. When he seemed to expect an invitation inside, she used her father's presence as an excuse.

As if on cue, the door jerked open when he was leaning forward to kiss her. "There you are!" barked her father. "I've been worrying all night!" He grabbed her elbow and pulled her inside. "Young woman, you have some explaining to do." He barely glanced at Kurt before slamming the door shut.

Trynity sighed with relief. "Thank you, father."

He chucked her under the chin. "Glad to be of assistance, pumpkin."

She tossed aside her handbag, then went to the dress bag to unzip and take out the gown she had purchased. "What do you think?" She held it up to her.

Dr. Stryfe scratched his head. "I don't know what you are getting all decked out for, but I'm sure you'll have a reason to wear it on Calabria."

She frowned at him. "Don't start with that!" Trynity noticed another parcel from a jeweler. "Where did that come from?"

He looked. "My best guess would be Gordon and Sons Fine Jewelers."

"I didn't buy that!" She took a step back. "Please get rid of it for me, father."

He picked it up and opened the small box. "Off hand, I'd say this belonged to Lars. He must have had it repaired and forgot to pick it up."

Trynity took the pocket watch, recognizing it as one she had given him for their tenth anniversary. Inside he had put a picture of Trynity, Stryfe and Quynn. She felt very foolish for thinking it was another gift from Quatre. "I should give this to Stryfe."

Her father took the watch in his hand and sighed. "I never thought it would work between you two, but he was a lot more tenacious than I realized."

Trynity smiled. "He never did give up."

They remained silent for a moment, each thinking their own memories of Lars, then her father cleared his throat. "I think I will get to bed."

That night she thought she would dream of Lars instead of having her usual nightmare of Quatre Winner. Instead, she dreamed of Duo Maxwell, and when she awoke, she found tears on her pillow and she was feeling depressed. The following day she paid a visit to the psychiatrist who had tried to treat her over a month ago. Trynity told her about her suspicions and the woman explained that it was natural. She prescribed something to ease her panic attacks and told her to make an appointment to begin therapy. 

When she went to her office, she checked the messages on the telecom. Quynn wanted to know how her shopping excursion had gone; Stryfe thanked her for sending the watch, and Relena demanded they get together for lunch tomorrow so she could talk about her evening with Kurt Duran.

Trynity was picking up the file of her first patient when the last message played. "Did you enjoy the show last night, sweetheart? I enjoyed watching you. You don't really think that guy can give you what I can, make you feel what I did? You are mine, now, Trynity Stryfe Nelson, and don't you forget it." 

She looked at the telecom and found herself face to face with Quatre Winner. One corner of his lips curled into a smile, and then he blew her a kiss before the screen became blank except for the Arabic four. Trynity grabbed her telecom and checked the location of the call, then called Heero.

"He's at Quynn's apartment!" Trynity was beside herself with worry.

"Relax, Trynity. Quynn is on duty, and I'll send someone over to check it out. You do realize that these types of calls can be electronically altered so that they can't be traced?"

"I'm sure he is there!" she almost shouted. "He's just proving how easy it is to do as he damn well pleases and just how vulnerable we are!"

"Quatre is locked away, Trynity." Heero's frown was deep and she knew he was angry, but Trynity knew they were wrong.

"He is not on that ship! He is on L12, and if you can't do anything to help me, I'll help myself!" She pressed the button to end the communication, then told her nurse to cancel appointments. Trynity couldn't see any patients in the state she was in. Even two of the pills she had recently gotten didn't' help although they did keep her from dissolving into a puddle of nerves. 

Trynity needed to be able to protect herself, but she had no access to a gun. Only military and security personnel were allowed firearms, and Heero's stranglehold on the colony was so complete that she wouldn't even be able to buy one on the black market if she tried. After what seemed like hours of thought, she remembered that Lars had kept his locker on L12 from the days he had been a security officer. He used it to store things later on.

She ran into Kurt on the way out and asked him to look in on her patients. His questions she was able to brush off and he reminded her when he was picking her up for their evening at the ballet. Trynity went to the central security area where she was greeted by people she knew and who had known Lars. She asked if she could pick up his personal affects and was shown immediately to his locker. Since she didn't bring anything with her, she was provided a box. Trynity keyed in his password - the date of their anniversary - and threw everything that was in the locker into a box. She was relieved to find his pistol, which she shoved, to the bottom of the box.

Her father was out of the apartment, so Trynity didn't have to listen to his questions. She cleaned the pistol, checked to be sure it was loaded, then stuffed it into the handbag she would be wearing with her gown that night. If Quatre showed up, she would be more than happy to show him just how she appreciated him.

Returning to the box, her attention was drawn to a photograph peeking out of one of his shirt pockets. She pulled it out and gasped when she recognized Hilde Schbeiker, stretched out on a bed wearing nothing more than a seductive smile. Trynity saw by the date in the corner that it had been taken only a month before Lars had been killed. She had just decided to dismiss it as another of Hilde's sad attempts to get Lars back, but she noticed something familiar on the table beside the bed in the picture. Trynity searched for a magnifying glass and held it to the picture. She couldn't believe her eyes. The object was Lars' watch! That meant he had taken the picture!

She dropped the magnifying glass and fell to her knees. Covering her face with her hands, she wept. All those years Lars had denied any involvement with Hilde. Trynity had trusted him, given him her love, and he paid her back by running to Hilde when her back was turned. He had presented himself as a model husband and father, and he was nothing more than everyone thought he was to begin with: a damned traitor!

Her father came home to find her still distraught. Although she didn't want to tell him the cause, he managed to weasel it out of her. He examined the picture, then remarked, "She's too skinny for a man like Lars."

Trynity itched to slap him. "Can't you be serious? My husband was cheating on me!"

He put his arm around her shoulders. "Lars wasn't cheating on you. He adored you and the children too much to do something like that. What has happened to your faith in people, Trynity?"

She wiped a tear away. "I don't know!"

"You need to get away from here."

"I am not going to Calabria!"

He chuckled. "I was thinking one of those lovely places on L11."

She managed to smile and hit his arm. "You are a liar."

"Well, Quynn seems to think the trip would do you wonders." His brows were raised as he looked at her, waiting for her response.

"Father, I can't be with Duo." She shuddered with self-disgust. "Not after…"

"I doubt he gives a damn. The boy loves you."

"Father, Duo Maxwell isn't a boy anymore, and I'm not a young woman."

He chuckled. "To me he will always be that boy who vowed to love you and take care of you forever."

"He did a damn good job, didn't he!" Trynity pushed herself away from him. "I have a date to get ready for."

Thankfully her father didn't make any more comments until she came out of her room dressed for the evening. He whistled. "You are every bit as beautiful as your mother was. But she had the prettiest blonde hair, like spun gold."

"Did I ever thank you for supplying the genetic material for this useless mop on my head?" Trynity had tried to put it up and failed, as usual, so she left it hanging loose.

He laughed and kissed her cheek. "Anyone who sees you looks twice."

The doorbell rang, and he wished a good evening as she grabbed her wrap and the handbag. Kurt gave her a half a dozen roses, which she almost tossed to her father as she did every morning with the ones left at her door. She took some time to arrange them in a vase while Dr. Stryfe handed her date a drink and they chatted about the ballet they were about to see. Trynity was feeling much better, especially after taking a couple of pills. The gun weighting down her handbag contributed to her good mood.

They had hors d'oeuvres and wine at the ballet before the performance, and then Kurt escorted her to his private box overlooking the stage. He told her about her patients before the performance began, then fell silent to watch when the lights went low and the stage was lit. Trynity tried to pay attention and enjoy the ballet, but she quickly grew bored. Before she knew it, she was snoozing and was awakened by applause. She was embarrassed to find herself in Kurt's arms, half off her chair and half on his lap.

She quickly straightened and fussed with her hair. "I'm sorry! I haven't been sleeping well lately."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. Your snores added something to the performance."

Trynity laughed. "I guess I am not a fan of the ballet."

He held out his arm. "Why don't we get a drink before heading home?"

Although she would prefer to head straight home, she agreed to a drink at his club and ended up having enough to make her judgment a little fuzzy. She even heard herself giggling when Kurt kept her from falling flat on her face in the parking lot.

"Oh my! I haven't been this drunk since the time Lars tried to pin me on the Coalition base." What was she rambling about?

Kurt helped her in the car, then climbed in and they sped away from the club. "I enjoyed myself tonight, Trynity. I confess, I've always been attracted to you, but you never seemed to notice."

She watched the scenery passing by. "I didn't have a bad time."

He laughed. "You got a badly needed nap."

Trynity noticed headlights in the mirror. "Is that car a little close?"

"Not for long." He changed speeds and Trynity laughed as he lurched ahead, weaved through traffic, then finally slowed down. The car that had been behind him was no where to be seen.

"Damn good driving," she said. She looked out the window, then up at the simulated night sky. What would it be like to be under real stars again? At least on the Mars Colony the wind was real, the rain was real, the sunrise and sunset was real.

He pulled to a stop at a curb, then opened the car and got out.

Trynity had difficulty standing and hoped she wasn't going to be puking sick. "Where are we? This isn't my apartment building."

"No, this is my place. Your father is a nice enough guy, but I really don't want to be interrupted by him in the middle of the night." His arms slid around her waist and he drew her to him.

Trynity shoved ineffectively against his shoulder. "I want to go home, Kurt."

He tried to kiss her, but she moved her head and his lips brushed her neck. Trynity felt nauseous. "I'll make it good for you, Trynity."

She moved her head again when he tried to kiss her, then he grabbed her hair to hold her still to put her lips to hers. But she kept her teeth clamped together, and he finally lifted his head.

"Are you going to be stubborn about this? I spent a fortune on you tonight, Trynity and the least you can do is give a little of what you gave to that jerk Maxwell and that sick bastard Quatre Winner."

Starting to sober, Trynity slapped his face. "Take me home now!"

"I think not!" He grabbed her arm and started to drag her to the door of his apartment building. "If it makes you feel better, just close your eyes and pretend I'm Duo Maxwell. You must have plenty of practice from all those years being married to Lars."

She tried to kick him, but he held her tight as he pulled her to the building. Before they could make it to the door, a car pulled to stop with a screech, and Trynity turned to see the same car that had been behind them. Kurt paused to watch the door open, and a man stepped out.

Her gasp mingled with Kurt's. Quatre Winner straightened and walked around the car slowly, his narrowed eyes on Kurt as if he were a predator stalking prey. Kurt's grasp on Trynity loosened, and she stumbled away, back to Kurt's car where she had left her handbag.

"Dr. Duran," started Quatre, "is this how you treat your patients?"

"My God! You are him!" Kurt backed up until he was against the door. He reached back to fumble with the door, but it was locked against possible break-in with a security code.

Quatre grabbed his neck in one hand and slammed him back against the door. "I don't appreciate anyone mauling my woman."

Trynity managed to get the gun and she came up behind Quatre. "Let him go!"

He reacted so fast that she was helpless to resist when he reached back to grab the gun from her hand. "Thank you, my dear." He put the gun to Kurt's head and pulled the trigger.

She heard the shot, watched Kurt's lifeless body slide to the ground, and felt Quatre's arms around her. Trynity was so shocked and stunned that she couldn't move. Almost immediately sirens sounded and she knew colony security would be arriving in second.

But Quatre paused to wipe blood from her face with a silken handkerchief, blood that had splattered from Kurt's exploding head. "He had to die, Trynity. I won't let anyone have you." He seemed to realize the authorities would be arriving, so he gently laid her on the ground. "I love you, Trynity. Don't you ever forget it."

"I told you already!" Trynity didn't lift her head from the table. It was pounding and she felt as if she had been run over by a truck. She was hot, tired, filthy – there was still dried blood on her – and she had to go to the bathroom so bad she was sure her bladder was going to burst. But the officer in charge of investigating Kurt's murder wouldn't let her so much as stand.

"So, you are sticking to your story, that some crazed admirer of yours drove up, took your gun and shot your date?" He leaned down and said in her ear, "What really happened, Dr. Nelson? He wouldn't take no for an answer? You were jealous of his success at work? You found out he was seeing other women?"

The door opened and another security officer stepped in and dropped a heavy file on the table. Trynity peeked from under her hair to see him smiling in glee. "I had a hell of a time getting this information, but I have enough her to fry Dr. Nelson." He opened the file. "I see you are quite handy with a gun, doctor. You tried to kill Lucrezia Noin some years back."

She groaned and covered her head with her arms. "I have to go the restroom!"

"Hey, commander, should we let her…"

"Let's see what else we have here! Ah, some nasty business with the Coalition! You were one of those traitors who tried to overthrow Miliardo Peacecraft's peaceful regime." He was flipping through papers. 

The other officer leaned close to her again. "Did Dr. Duran find out about your checkered past? Did you hope to seduce him into silence so that you wouldn't lose your job at the infirmary? When he refused, did you take out your gun, put it to his head and pull the trigger?"

Trynity turned her head to look at him. "I have to pee, and if you don't let me go, I will do it right here."

He looked at his superior. "Maybe we should let her go."

"I see you went to medical school at the Cinq King Science Academy. I believe Dr. Duran also went to the same school."

"Were you jealous of his success at school? Were you waiting all this time…"

"Bill, she graduated at the top of her class."

"Oh."

She sat up as best she could although her head felt like a lead weight and her stomach was cramping painfully. "Listen, I told you what happened. I went to the ballet with Dr. Duran, we went to his club for drinks, then he took me to his place."

"When did you decide you were going to kill him?" interrupted the superior officer. "You must have had the gun with you."

"I told you! I had the gun for protection!"

Officer Bill put his nose up to hers. "Why did you kill him? Was it just a cheap thrill?"

Trynity stood and started to lift her dress. "Sorry guys, but desperate circumstances call for desperate actions."

Bill didn't ask for permission, but hauled her out the door and around the corner to a small closet-like toilet. She was so relieved she almost cried, but once that dilemma was taken care, Bill dragged her back to the interrogation room. They nagged her for what seemed like hours, Bill's superior digging through her file with unnecessary diligence. Neither of them listened to her, although she did not change her story at all. 

Finally, the door opened, and three heads turned to see Heero Yuy step into the room. The two men saluted him, and Trynity breathed a sigh of relief. "Bill, why don't you take a break," Heero suggested to the oaf who had come up with at least a hundred different reasons for her to kill Kurt Duran. When Bill stepped out, Heero looked at the other man and the spread of papers on the table. "Well, Vic, I see you've been busy digging up classified files. Do you have clearance to see those?"

Vic's face turned a dark shade of red. "I…I was trying to get to the bottom of this, sir."

He quickly shuffled the papers back into the thick folder.

Heero took the file from him. "You realize that you are going to be demoted for this? These are restricted military files."

Vic had nothing to say. Trynity was glad because he hadn't shut his mouth for hours. Heero dismissed him and turned to Trynity. She stumbled across the room and threw herself against him.

"You don't know how relieved I am to see you!" She tried not to notice how stiff he was.

Heero put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back to look down at her. "You're a stinking mess, Trynity."

"Bill and Vic wouldn't let me powder my nose," she laughed.

"What the hell is going on, Trynity? I've read the preliminary report, and it doesn't look good."

She saw the confused and angry look in his eyes and backed away from him. "You can't believe I killed him! It was _him_! I swear it was _him_!"

"How would you know? The toxicology report states your blood alcohol level was extremely high and that you had enough barbiturate in your system to knock out a horse."

"They are prescription!" she defended herself.

"Maybe you were just too doped up to know what was going on. And what were you doing with Lars' gun?"

"Defending myself!" she shouted angrily. "You won't do anything to help me! And now Kurt is dead and Quatre Winner is still out there!"

"What am I supposed to do, Trynity?" He grabbed her arm and dragged her from the room and through the office area to a private office where Vic was placing his things in a box. "Get out."

Vic scurried to the door, and Heero forced Trynity into a chair at the desk, then turned to the telecom. He punched in a code and they waited in unnerving silence until a face appeared on the screen.

"Captain Morel, do you have everything arranged?"

"I do, sir. He's right here."

Trynity gasped when Quatre's face appeared on the screen. Heero put his hand on her shoulder when she would have bolted for the door. "I went through a lot of trouble to do this, Trynity. I've used the communication array for what would be considered a frivolous purpose when it should be used only for defense. Now look at him! He is on the transport between L11 and L10."

She forced herself to look at the screen. "You bastard!"

Quatre smiled at her. "I'm happy to see you too, sweetheart. You look a wreck. If I were there, I would run you a nice, hot bath, light some scented candles and take my time washing your lovely body."

"Shut up!" Trynity was trembling with rage. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Why am I doing what, sweetheart? I have been in the company of these fine gentlemen. In a few weeks I will be on Earth, but I won't be gone long. I already have a team of lawyers getting my defense ready. And when I return, we can take that steaming bath together, my sweet. After, you may give me a massage with perfumed oils. You know what I like."

"That's enough!" Heero closed the communication, but Trynity heard Quatre's laugh. He looked at Trynity. "Have I proven anything to you?"

She burst into tears, and Heero gathered her in his arms. "I don't know what is happening to me! I was sure…"

He patted her back. "You are an emotional mess, Trynity. Now you are in serious legal trouble."

"I didn't kill him," she sobbed against his chest.

A knock at the door preceded Vic's entry into his former office. "Sir, I think you should come this way. One of my men arrested a man for trying to use Dr. Duran's credit card."

Trynity followed Heero to the desk where the man was sitting and she gasped. "Bert! What are you doing here?"

The father of the twins she had delivered on Mars Colony over a month earlier sat in the chair wringing his hat in his hands. When he saw her, he looked at his feet. "I am so sorry, Dr. Nelson."

"Do you know this man?" asked Heero.

"His wife was a patient of mine on Mars."

"Listen to his story, sir." Bill prodded Bert with his finger.

Bert couldn't even look up as he spoke. "Me and Meggie left the colony and we didn't have any money. I haven't been able to get a job here yet. I was walking last when I saw Dr. Nelson with that man. He was pushing her around and…and…I noticed her purse was in the car. So I took it out, hoping she might have some money. But all I found was a gun, and then I heard her scream. I didn't mean to shoot that man. I've never had gun in my hand before."

"He's lying!" cried Trynity. She met Bert's eyes and she saw that he was ashamed.

"We found several of Dr. Duran's personal items in his apartment," spoke up another officer.

"I took his money, his rings and his watch," admitted Bert. He looked at Trynity. "You don't know how sorry I am, Dr. Nelson, for all the trouble I have caused you."

Bill looked at Trynity. "I guess you are free to go."

"Bert, how are Meggie and the children?" she asked the distraught man. "How are they being taken care of?"

He continued to stare down at his hands. "I don't know."

Trynity knew and she told Heero her suspicions when he escorted her to the lobby where her father was waiting. "Quatre is paying him to lie!"

Dr. Stryfe put a coat around her shoulders. "We should get home. You look exhausted."

"Trynity, I can't find any other way to convince you that Quatre can't possibly be on this colony. He is at least two weeks away from here. What you need is some rest." After kissing the top of her head, he walked away.

Her father didn't say anything on the way home, and after she had changed and showered, he had a cup of coffee waiting for her. They sat across from each other in the small kitchen, neither speaking for several minutes before he said, "I think we should tell Quynn and Stryfe before this hits the news." He left the table and she heard him call Stryfe first, then Quynn. Both her children were horrified by what had happened and hurried to be with her. Trynity didn't care what they thought as she told them what had really happened.

Quynn and Stryfe stared at her speechlessly, as if she had lost her mind. Her father on the other hand walked over to the computer, cracked his knuckles and sat down at the desk.

"What are you doing, Gramps?" asked Stryfe, leaning over his shoulder as his bony fingers flew over the keys.

"A guy can't be two places at once, can he?" The keys were clacking as codes ran past him on the screen.

"Ah, hey, Gramps, you can get into a lot of trouble," said Quynn.

Trynity looked over his shoulder and saw that he was trying different passwords to break into the defense computer. "Father, what are you doing?"

He didn't look up from his work. "There's a reason I never put my work on one of these infernal machines: anyone with the right know how can find whatever they want."

"Ah, isn't that what you're doing?" pointed out Stryfe.

He ignored his grandson. "I think Quatre Winner probably has the know-how to manipulate the system."

"He has enough money, too," grumbled Trynity.

"But he is locked in a cell on a transport headed to Earth." Stryfe looked at Trynity. "You spoke to him; Heero spoke to him."

"Through the defense communication array that was set up to facilitate long range fast-speed communication between Earth and the outer colonies." Dr. Stryfe smiled as he pressed the enter button. "Now we shall see where the communication actually originated from."

"Are you saying Quatre Winner may not be on that ship?" demanded Quynn.

"Isn't that what your mother has been saying?" He looked at both Quynn and Stryfe sternly. "Don't doubt her! If she says Quatre Winner is here, then we must believe her."

Trynity put her arms around him and kissed his wrinkled cheek. "Thank you, father."

They turned their attention to the screen, which was running code. Dr. Stryfe seemed to like one because he stopped it and entered it. The screen went blank for a moment before the screen was went blank but for dozens of dots that chased each other around the screen before coming together to form the Arabic number four.

"That son of a bitch is smarter than I thought!"

"I don't believe it!" Stryfe leaned closer to the computer. "He has hacked into the array!"

"If he can do it, what is to become of our defenses?" They turned to look at Quynn who shrugged. "Well, someone has to think about Cinq Kingdom defense while gramps is hacking the system!"

"We need to tell Heero about this," said Stryfe as he crossed the room to the telecom.

Trynity hurried to stop him. "Heero hasn't helped me so far! He'll just say that my father is manufacturing evidence to support my claim! He'll probably arrest him for tampering with the array."

Stryfe seemed to be torn between duty and his family. The latter won. "I think we're making a mistake."

"I got the bastard this time!" The screen went blank and was replaced by a screen saver of daisies. He scratched his head. "I will find out where he sent that signal from if it takes me the rest of the night!"

Trynity sighed, wondering if his task was hopeless. Quatre obviously anticipated such a search. Although her father was not discouraged by several more failures, Trynity saw his mission as impossible, but she was glad that her father believed her. Even though he hadn't succeeded, he was certain that with time he would be able to expose Quatre Winner.

The following day she forced herself to go into work, and she was followed to her office by stares and whispers. Before she could sit down, the infirmary administrator stepped in and closed the door. Trynity knew what was coming before he started speaking.

"I'm surprised that you are back so soon after what happened," he began.

She looked at his face. "I find work therapeutic."

"Yes, well, the chairman of the board of directors sent me to tell you that a vacation might be beneficial at this time."

"A vacation?" she repeated.

"Don't worry about your patients! We have already spread around their case files so that no doctor will be unduly burdened." He was smiling as if he were doing her a favor.

"I'm glad you have managed everything so efficiently," she said sarcastically "Have my patients been notified?"

"A few of your patients called up already today to request a new doctor." He rubbed his neck nervously. "Actually, you have been placed on a six month leave of absence. When that is over, we'll see whether you are ready to return."

"You mean whether you want me back?" Trynity picked up the picture of her family that was on her desk, then marched to the door. "Screw this job, Dr. Harlow! I'm not coming back!"

Trynity decided to walk home, and on the way she stopped to sit on a park bench near a playground where children were running around, climbing, going down a slide. She had similar memories of her own childhood, but she had swung on electrical cords at heights that were far too dangerous and had slid down the smooth gundanium arms into the hand of the Shadowhawk. Now as she watched, she thought of the childhood of her children that she had missed because she had been busy studying for medical exams. Lars had taken Stryfe and Quynn to the park, to the zoo, to the museum, to school. She wondered if he had married her so that he could become a father.

She sighed as she thought of her dismal future. Where would she be able to practice medicine again? The clinic on Mars Colony was in ruins and she had just burned far too many bridges in the medical community by walking out on Dr. Harlow who was very influential. All Trynity had wanted was to help people, and now they did not want her help. Her life seemed so wasted.

Rising, she left the bench and walked back to the street, but when she came to a pay phone, it began to ring. She paused to look at it as did several other passers by. They continued on their way, but Trynity walked to the phone and picked it up.

"My dear, that was quite unpredictable." The voice belonged to Quatre.

She almost hung up the phone, but she decided to speak to him. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Doing what, my love? I am on a transport headed to Earth." He laughed. "Did you like my performance? Heero was quite taken in!"

Trynity wanted to hang up the phone, but she hoped she could learn something from talking to him, that he might slip up. "Are you watching me now?"

"I watched you at the park, and I pretended that you were there with our child."

"We don't have a child!" Trynity was starting to tremble, and she looked around frantically to see where he was. She fumbled in her purse for her medication and remembered that it had been confiscated at the security station.

"That is something we are going to have to work on, isn't it? Are you sure you're not expecting the Winner heir already?"

She slammed down the phone and walked quickly away, looking over her shoulder. He could be anywhere, in front of her, behind her, at her side. Trynity returned home to see her father working at the computer, and she moved quickly past him so that he would not see her agitation. She went to her room and laid down on her bed where she burst into tears. 

"There is a solution to this problem, if you would only allow yourself to consider it."

Trynity wiped her eyes and looked at her father who was standing in the doorway. "There is more than one solution to every problem. I tried to kill him two nights ago and failed. My life is in ruins!"

He sighed. "I'm beginning to understand all that nonsense of fate and the will of the gods that Duo Maxwell was spouting."

"Please don't talk about him, father." Trynity muffled her sobs in her pillow.

He put his hand on her back and stroked her as he spoke in a soothing tone. "There, there, Trynity, there isn't anything that you and he can't overcome together."

She shook her head. "I can't do this to him." She turned around to look at him, tears blurring his face. "I…I think I'm pregnant."

He drew her into his arms and she cried again as he comforted her. When she was exhausted, he gently laid her back on the bed. "We've been here before, Trynity, and you were sure your life was going to come to an end then, too. I know what is going through your head, but you can't think the worst, Trynity. The baby is most likely Duo's, and you can't keep this from him."

"But I can't know for certain for a few more months! It isn't fair to him to tell him now when I don't know. What if the baby is Quatre Winner's? How would he feel?"

He laid his hand on her cheek. "How would you feel?"

She didn't know how she would feel. The remainder of the day she spent in bed sleeping off the residual hangover, and the following day she picked up the flowers outside her door and laid on the couch plucking away the petals. She didn't need to wonder if Duo loved her. He had been very clear about that before he left. Would he really wait an eternity as he had said? Or was he even now sleeping with Larya? Men couldn't be trusted.

By the time evening rolled around, she eagerly accepted her father's invitation to dine at the corner café. There were only a couple of booths, so she could see every nook and cranny of the place. Quatre wasn't there. Afterwards, they went for a walk on a path by the simulated lake, on which shimmered simulated moonlight.

"I hate this place," she murmured as she rested her head against her father's arm. "None of it is real."

His arm tightened around her waist. "Pumpkin, it is as real as you want it to be."

"Are you making any progress with the array?"

"None whatsoever." He chuckled. "I didn't think Quatre Winner had it in him! You remember I was responsible for his education back at Seaside Lab. I'm afraid I may have inadvertently taught him more about computer systems than he needed to know. At the time he acted as if he were humoring me. Now I know otherwise."

"I don't think any of us knew what we wanted or needed at that time."

"It's getting late. I have a few more ideas I would like to work on."

She went straight to bed although her father stayed up a little longer. She dreamed of Duo and the beach at Seaside, but instead of the pleasant conclusion she remembered, they were interrupted when Quatre stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight. Trynity watched with horror as he put a gun to Duo's head. 

__

"You are mine," he told her. "Remember that."

Her eyes snapped open as he pulled the trigger. Her heart was pounding, and she was finding it difficult to breathe. Trynity left her bed and went to the bathroom where she pressed a cool washcloth to her face. When she was sufficiently calm, she returned to her room, but she was suddenly grabbed and pushed against the wall, and her door was pushed shut. Trynity opened her mouth to scream, but she heard the click of a pistol being cocked.

"My sweet, I'll cap the first person to walk through that door. Do you understand?" He put his mouth to hers, and she fought gagging until he moved his lips to her neck. "I want you, Trynity. You don't know how much restraint I've had, but I can't take it any longer. I need you."

She struggled with him as he dragged her to the bed, but he was much stronger. He wrestled her down to the bed, and she would have screamed had he not covered her mouth with his again. Trynity was too weak to stop him, and he seemed to enjoy the power he had over her.

"You know you want me," he said hoarsely in her ear as his hands were tearing at her nightgown. "Remember how you wanted me that day? It's just you and me, Trynity. There's no need for lies between us."

Trynity whimpered and looked away from him. "Just get it over with!"

He dragged one of his hands slowly down her body. "I love you, Trynity."

A knock at the door froze him. "Mom, are you awake?" It was Stryfe.

Trynity realized he had set aside his gun, and she scrambled to the table by her bed at the same time he did. She reached it before him, but her hand was shaking as she aimed it at his heart. The room was still dark and she couldn't make out his face, but his mocking laughter was clear enough.

"You can't kill me, Trynity. You have already tried."

The opening door distracted her and Quatre lunged for the gun, but she fired. Now the door slammed open and Stryfe aimed his own gun at the shadowy figure slipping out the window. He took a couple shots, then dashed to the window to look down. Trynity joined him and they saw no sign of the man who had been in her room.

She was quivering like Jell-O as she sat weakly on the bed, the gun still in her hand while Stryfe turned on the light. Her father stood in the doorway pale as a ghost. Stryfe took the gun from her hand and holstered his own behind his back.

"Maybe we should show that to Heero Yuy!" snorted Dr. Stryfe.

Stryfe replaced the clip, then showed Trynity the handle. The gun was Quynn's service pistol. "Oh my God! How did he get his hands on that?"

"Quynn says it was stolen from her locker. The guard saw a woman he didn't recognize that day enter the lockerroom and leave shortly after."

"That woman wasn't, by any chance, about six foot four with long blond hair, was she?" her father grumbled.

"No. In fact, he thought she was rather petite, attractive, and perhaps a little too old to be considered a pilot." Stryfe looked at Trynity. "Do you know anybody fitting that description?"

"I know hundreds of people," she said weakly.

"Well, if we didn't suspect by now, we would know for certain. Winner is not acting on his own. Someone is helping him." Her father came to the bed and tucked Trynity beneath the covers. "I know you probably can't get much sleep, but you need it, pumpkin. I'll stay in here for the rest of the night."

"If you don't mind, I think I will sleep on the couch. I'm moving in here tomorrow."

"You can't do that!" protested Trynity lamely although she wanted him to watch over her.

"I'm calling Quynn too. We are going to beat this bastard together."

Two days later Trynity felt safer with her family living with her, and she hadn't received a phone call or had any contact with Quatre at all. She wondered if Stryfe had shot him and he was licking his wounds in some extravagant penthouse suite. But she clearly remembered hearing the bullets strike the metal of the fire escape, so she knew he had gotten away unscathed. Quynn arrived late in the afternoon carrying her mail, and she tossed the pile on the table, then bent over her grandfather's shoulder to give him unwanted advice.

Trynity picked up the mail and tossed aside several applications for credit cards, then opened up a letter from the dress shop, discovering a bill she couldn't pay - without a job. Her stipend from the Cinq Kingdom barely covered her necessary expenses, and after paying rent, it was gone. Her father was paying for food.

"Relena is pissed off that you haven't called her." Quynn hurdled the back of the couch and wriggled to get comfortable. "Chaz told me his father is sleeping in a guest room."

Trynity chuckled thinking of the shouting match that must have followed her detainment at security headquarters. She thought she should call Relena, but she wasn't sure she wanted to involve her.

"I think that son of a bitch has put every flower species known to man in the system," snarled Dr. Stryfe as another colorful flower appeared on the screen, but this time it was accompanied by a message. HAVING FUN YET?

Trynity picked up a large, plain envelope addressed to her. She hoped it was papers from the insurance company dealing with the loss of her house. Trynity was afraid she had let the policy lapse after Lars' death. He had taken care of the business details.

But she didn't pull insurance papers from the envelope. She found herself looking at large glossy photographs of a man and woman together in various intimate positions. Trynity stared at the pictures speechlessly, because there was no doubt in her mind that it was Lars and Hilde. She had already resigned herself to the truth that Lars had an affair with her, but seeing him with her, the loving look on his face when he touched her, shattered Trynity's already broken heart.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Before she could stop her – Trynity wondered whatever happened to her lightening reflexes – Quynn grabbed the pictures and stared at them, flipping one after another, faster and faster. "Who is that whore?" She tore them and threw them, then pulled Trynity into her arms. "Don't cry, mom! Please don't cry."

Dr. Stryfe picked up a photograph and pieced it together. "Not the kind of thing a young lady should be looking at." He turned the picture. "Isn't that interesting."

"Shut up, Gramps and stop looking at that disgusting porn."

"It's Hilde Schbeiker," Trynity told Quynn.

"Hilde Schbeiker?" Quynn straightened. "I've heard that name before."

"Your father dated her before me."

"Which one?"

Trynity started to say Lars, then sighed. "Both."

"You mean she dated Pops and Duo Maxwell at the same time? Lucky bitch!"

"No! She had just broken off her relationship with Duo when I met him. Later she tried to get him back, and failing she started seeing Lars. When it was obvious that Duo wasn't coming back, Lars broke it off with her." Trynity wiped a tear from her eyes. "I _thought_ they had broken off their relationship."

"Those pictures don't look like a broken off relationship to me. I can't believe Pops would do such a thing to you, Mom."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Dr. Stryfe had picked up the pictures and was examining them closely.

"Father! What are you doing? Just throw them away!"

He motioned her forward, and she reluctantly went to him, but he held the pictures from Quynn's sight. "These aren't for your virgin eyes."

Quynn glared at him then walked away to stare out the window. Trynity knew how she felt. What they had believed about Lars might all be lies.

Her father tugged on her sleeve. "Take a look at this, pumpkin."

She looked where he was pointing. Trynity didn't really want to be looking at Hilde's naked body, so she averted her eyes quickly. "I don't see anything."

He left her and returned with the magnifying glass she had used several days earlier. "Look again, pumpkin. I think you need glasses."

She peered at the picture and saw a couple of faint scars on the back of the woman with Lars. "Oh my God!" She moved the magnifying glass to the woman's face, which was clearly Hilde, but as she examined further, she could see where the photographs had been altered. Unfortunately, whoever had done them, and Trynity had a good idea, they didn't realize Trynity had come back from Calabria with scars on her back from the whip imperial guard Dax had used on her in an attempt to break her spirit.

"What is it?" Quynn was coming toward her. Panicking, Trynity grabbed all the pictures and hurried to the kitchen where she stuffed them in to the garbage disposal. Before Quynn could grab one, she turned it on and the disposal made a horrendous grinding nose as it chewed the pictures to tiny bits. Quynn looked at the confetti being created then back to her mother. "Mother!"

Trynity ignored them and went back to the envelope. She held it upside down and a card floated out and fell on the floor. She picked it up and wasn't surprised to see the Arabic numeral. "Well, we know something for certain. That bitch is working with Quatre."

"She's a dangerous woman," remarked her father. "I wouldn't count on her actually working with Winner. Remember, she had a relationship with him too."

"I didn't steal Quatre form her, and I didn't steal Duo and I certainly didn't take Lars from her!"

"That may be true, mom, but from her perspective, you did."

"It's time to inform colony security," announced her father. "If she is helping Quatre, losing her will hamper whatever he has planned."

Trynity did not go to colony security, but decided to try Heero one more time. Instead of running into Relena at his home, she went to his office and had to wait for him to finish with regular business. He seemed annoyed to have her visit, and he all but rolled his eyes when she began. She told him about the phone call, about Quatre's break-in and the shots fired in her apartment and the gun stolen from Quynn. 

Heero stared at her without comment, and when she finished, he sighed. "I hope you aren't losing your mind, Trynity. I'll have my men discover Hilde's whereabouts. As for Quatre, if what you say is true, that he has tapped into the defense communication array, the safety of the colonies may be at stake."

"What are you going to do?"

"Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to prove Quatre is or isn't on that ship without using the array. I'll put my own experts on the case. In the meantime, Relena will be royally pissed off if you don't come to dinner tomorrow night. Colonel Benton is arriving escorting Prince Zieben. Apparently Zieben wants to get a look at his possible brides before he commits himself to one."

"If they are all as beautiful and sweet as Shamara, he is going to have a difficult choice." Trynity left after agreeing to have dinner with them and to bring her family. When she stepped on the street, she realized she was being followed and felt relief when she saw that they were colony security officers.

She stopped at a grocery store to pick up some items her father requested for the evening meal. The security officers tried to look inconspicuous, but failed miserably. Perhaps the fact they didn't get a cart, wore sunglasses, dressed in suits and made no attempt to shop drew just a little attention. Trynity felt ridiculous with them trailing her, so she turned into the aisle with personal feminine products and they almost fell over each other escaping to an aisle over where they were obviously more comfortable with dog food and pet supplies.

"It's a shame, really."

She looked up from her list to see Quatre lounging against the shelf. He picked up a box and tossed it into her cart. "What are you talking about?" Now she wished the men were closer. Trynity tried to push past him, but he grabbed the edge of the cart.

"It's a shame that you need these things. I was looking forward to helping you raise our child."

She pushed past him, but he remained behind her. "All I have to do is call out and you will be caught."

"You know as well as I do that there isn't the cage made that can hold me." He was close behind her, and she could feel his breath on her neck. "Besides, I have my own gun today. If your watch dogs want to re-enact the fight at the O.K. Corral, a few innocent bystanders might be shot."

Trynity glanced around and saw women with children, people going about their daily shopping without any idea of the danger Quatre Winner was to them. "You would do it, wouldn't you!"

"The first person I would cap is that little boy over there. He has been annoying his mother with his incessant whining for popsicles. After him, that old man, then I might take out those buffoons who are supposed to be protecting you." Quatre moved close and slid his arm around her waist and lowered his head to kiss her neck. "I would do a much better job of protecting you. Why don't you just forget your meaningless life and return to Mars with me? You will never want for anything, my sweet Trynity."

She shoved him away and turned to look at him. "I would always want what you have taken from me: my self-respect and my dignity. You can't give those back to me!"

"But I can give you what no one else will: my unconditional love. Whatever you wish, it will be yours. Wherever you want to be, I will take you there. My life would revolve around you and you alone. Lars didn't give you that, Trynity. I think he grew to love the children more than he loved you. Forget Duo Maxwell! He's nothing more than a gutter rat. He'll always think about himself before anyone else." He looked as if he were about to say something else, but he suddenly ducked his head and walked away.

"Dr. Nelson, are you all right?"

She realized she was still standing in the same aisle. Knowing that Quatre could still follow through on his threat, she smiled and said, "There is so much to choose from! So many different sizes and shapes, levels of absorbency…"

"These look useful," commented the other man, holding a box. "Assorted sizes, light days, heavy days, bedtime, with wings…"

Trynity almost burst into laughter at the look on his partner's face. "What the hell are you doing?" he snapped.

"My girlfriend wanted me to pick some up."

Trynity did laugh as she took them from him and dropped them in her cart. "I'll buy them for you."

He was relieved. "Thanks, doc."

They escorted her to her door and told her one of them would be under the window and the other would be outside. Backup was only a call on their mobile phones away and there were a half-dozen men on call waiting for such a call. She felt a little safer with them around. 

Her father cooked a delicious meal for the two of them because Quynn and Stryfe were on duty. After supper, Dr. Stryfe sat back down at the computer and Trynity was amused to note that he was playing his Zelda game. She joined him for an hour, and they played together, with her lending advice. Before slipping into bed, she glanced out the window to assure herself that the guard was still there.

She must have dozed for a couple of hours when she was awakened by the sharp wailing of the smoke detector. Trynity could smell thick smoke, and she jumped out of her bed. She ran out of her room, bumping into another person.

"Are you all right, doc?" She recognized the voice of one of the guards.

"What is going on?"

"I think something was left burning on the stove. We had better get out of here."

Trynity could hear her father complaining about leaving behind his computer. Thinking of all the work he had done, she hurried back into the smoky living room and felt her way around for the portable terminal. When she finally found it, she snapped it shut, unplugged it and turned around to leave, but she felt the barrel of a gun poking her in the chest.

"You are so damn stupid, Trynity Stryfe. I don't know what anyone sees in you!"

"Hilde!" The computer dropped from her hand to the floor.

Hilde coughed and rubbed her eyes, but she kept the gun pointed to her. "Yes, Hilde. Good old Hilde!"

Trynity's eyes stung from the smoke and she tried not to breathe in too deeply. "We have to get out of here."

"I'm going to get out of here, but you're not going anywhere." Hilde grabbed Trynity and jammed the gun to her head. "You see, you started the fire so that your father would get out, then you took your own life. You were just too distraught to go on living after learning that your husband cheated on you, your lover left you behind, and you couldn't deal with that nasty business on Mars Colony." She prodded her with the gun. "By the way, how did you enjoy it?"

"Where's Quatre? Is he hiding around here?" demanded Trynity. "Is this just the prelude before he comes in to take what he wants?"

"Quatre? You are crazy! Quatre is on his way to prison. Good riddance! I thought he was different, but he turned out to be like all the other men. He used me as a welcome mat, wiping his feet on me before entering your house."

Trynity's mind started to race. Hilde didn't know about Quatre? "Let me go, Hilde. You haven't harmed anyone yet."

Hilde slapped her face, then grabbed her hair and dragged her to the window. Pounding at the door assured Trynity that her disappearance had been discovered. "I think I like the idea of you plummeting to your death."

"Three stories up can hardly be considered plummeting," said Trynity nervously. "I might just break an arm or a leg, but…"

"Shut up!" Hilde slapped her again, and Trynity could taste blood in her mouth. "If you are so intent on a quick death, then so be it." She raised the gun and pointed it at Trynity's chest. "Good bye, Trynity. I hope you rot in hell with that bastard Lars Nelson."

Trynity looked past Hilde and saw the figure drop from above and crash through the window as if this were some strange nightmare. Hilde fell to the floor amidst broken glass, and the gun skittered across the room. Trynity didn't know if she should be relieved or terrified by Quatre's arrival.

Hilde looked up at him as he stood over her. She laughed bitterly. "I should have known! You've always wanted the slut, but she wouldn't be a flower in your damned garden."

Quatre grasped her chin in his hand. "Hilde, she is the purest flower in my garden. As for you, you're nothing but a weed."

Hilde laughed at him. "She's the weed, dear Quatre. She's Duo Maxwell's thistle girl. You might have her, but she'll always be his."

Quatre tightened his grip, then quickly twisted his wrist until Trynity heard a crack, and he left Hilde's lifeless body fall to the floor. Quatre started toward Trynity, but he stopped when the door burst open. He turned to escape through the broken window and was face to face with a gun in the hand of Heero Yuy.

Stryfe stood in the doorway with another gun. "Looks like we cornered a rat!" He reached out to grab Trynity and pull her behind him.

Quatre looked at him with contempt. "Did you think I would use her to escape? I would never endanger her."

Heero's security guards moved in past Stryfe and grabbed Quatre's arms, jerked them behind his back and put restraining cuffs on his wrists.

"Do you really think you can hold me?" Quatre asked Heero with a cool stare.

Heero stared back at him. "If I didn't, I'd put hot lead between your eyes right now."

Quatre laughed derisively. "You wouldn't do it, Yuy. You're a champion of justice now, and you want to see me before a judge and jury. Just remember that anyone can be bought with the right amount of money – anyone. Haven't I already proved it?"

Heero nodded to his men, who dragged him out, then went to put his ams around Trynity. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

She moved away from him and bent to check Hilde for a pulse then shook her head. "I…I can't believe this has happened. I keep thinking it's a nightmare and I will wake up to find myself back at Seaside Lab."

Stryfe took her arms and helped her to her feet. "We have to get out of here, mom. The smoke is getting thicker."

The fire Hilde had set in order to flush everyone out ruined her apartment. Trynity at least credited the demented woman for not wanting to cause innocent people any harm. Heero insisted that she stay with him and Relena, and this time Trynity accepted. The following day, Quatre was placed on a military prison barge under heavy guard. He didn't seem bothered by the excessive measures they used to keep him incarcerated. Trynity feared that Quatre already had a plan.

As she sat at the breakfast nook sipping coffee with Heero reading the paper and Relena chatting to no one in particular about her plans for the day, the butler stepped out onto the terrace carrying a vase of red roses.

"These arrived for Dr. Nelson a moment ago," he told them.

Trynity looked at the card hanging from a silken ribbon. None of the others had come with a card.

Heero peeked at the roses from over his paper. "Maybe you should go to Calabria just to tell him to stop sending you flowers."

"I think they are beautiful and very sweet. It shows just how much he loves you, Trynity." Relena stared at her, then nodded to the card.

Trynity stared at the card for a moment. She felt much calmer since Quatre had been taken into custody. Did she really want to lose her peace of mind by reading some heart lurching message from Duo Maxwell? But seeing that Heero and Relena were watching her, she felt she had no choice. She carefully opened the envelope and withdrew a paper. Unfolding it, she read, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MINE. It was signed by the Arabic four.

When she said nothing, Relena reached out to grab the note, but Heero snatched it from her hand before she could read it. He frowned, then walked out of the room. Relena tried to nag Trynity about the contents, but she could only stare speechlessly at the roses. All this time she thought they had been sent by Duo. Now she felt both relieved and disappointed to find that they were from Quatre.

Heero returned after a few moments, and he didn't say anything until he resumed his seat and reached out to take Trynity's hands. "I'm sorry. The transport was attacked by a gundam."

Trynity bit back tears. "Was it Quynn? Is she in trouble?"

"No. One of the newer recruits – not Stryfe – was piloting Sandrock. There were no survivors."

"Sandrock!" Trynity was shocked that Quatre would be killed by his own gundam. "Where is it now?"

"Shortly after the attack, it was sucked into the wormhole where it exploded. There are pieces of it on this side of the galaxy, and I imagine on the other side also."

Trynity looked at the roses. "He's not dead."

"Don't be ridiculous…" started Relena, but Heero cut her off.

"She may be right. I've learned my lesson. We will consider that Quatre is still on the colony, that he somehow staged his death on the transport."

"There were many innocent men and women on that transport," said Relena sadly. She pushed herself away from the table. "I will start contacting their loved ones."

Two days later, following the memorial service for those whose lives were lost, Prince Zieben Peacecraft arrived on L12 with Colonel Benton. He flirted with Quynn and Trynity, asked many questions about Calabria and Princess Shamara. While Trynity liked Zieben, she could not imagine him ruling the Cinq Kingdom with the same efficiency and tact that his father showed. Then again, he was still quite young and probably resenting having to take a wife. Trynity certainly couldn't imagine Stryfe with a wife. Colonel Benton certainly had his hands full. He always had.

After dinner that night, Benton caught up with Trynity on the terrace where she was sipping a watered down glass of wine. Relena had caught her pouring water into her drink, but she didn't comment although Trynity knew she had guessed her secret.

"It's a beautiful night," he commented as he came to stand beside her at the balcony overlooking a glistening pool.

"The weather is generated by a computer choosing random patterns. Tonight just happens to be pleasant." She drank from her wine.

"I have lived my entire life on Earth," he told her. "I find this amazing."

"I've never known you to make small talk." Trynity turned to face him. "What do you want?"

"I am quite anxious about going through the wormhole with Zieben. You have some experience doing so, and you have studied it extensively. Additionally, I think I would feel more at ease knowing there is a human doctor in my group."

"Are you asking me to join you?" 

Before she could flat out refuse, he rushed on. "Heero has told me his concern for your safety. I think Quatre Winner would have a hell of a time getting through the wormhole, regardless of his wealth."

"I'm not going!" She started to go past him, but Benton grasped her arm.

"Hear me out, Dr. Nelson."

"I've already given you my answer."

"I hoped you wouldn't be difficult." He pulled an envelope from his inside his jacket and handed it to her.

Trynity saw the official seal of the Cinq Kingdom, so she was sure it wasn't some twisted communication from Quatre. She broke the seal and read the message from Lucrezia Noin, Zieben's mother: YOU OWE ME. She had signed and stamped it, and accompanying it was a bank draft for a considerable amount of money.

"Will I be including you in my group?" asked Benton.

"If I refuse, I suppose you have an order for my arrest."

"I'm hoping to not go that far."

Trynity sighed. "I guess I'm going to Calabria."


	27. Dagan is welcomed home

****

Calabrian System

The instant the Calabrian ship passed through the wormhole into Calabrian-Bayman space, several Bayman fighter craft and a royal barge transport surrounded it. Dagan thought it more than just a little coincidental that they knew the exact moment of their return so that they could attack when the Calabrian ship was at its most vulnerable, not having had the chance to restore full power. Lord Duo had no recourse but to allow them to board his vessel because there wasn't enough power for the weapons and shields.

Several Bayman soldiers entered the bridge now, and although Shamara was standing with Dagan's arm protectively around her waist, Taeron drew his sword and stepped in front of her. The soldiers singled Dagan out immediately, and the commander saluted him.

"Your highness! The gods have answered our prayers!"

"What is the meaning of this attack on Princess Shamara's ship?" he asked the man.

"I think we are about to find out," remarked Lord Duo who nodded to the viewing screen of the communicator. Dagan was annoyed to recognize the woman whose face appeared. Lord Duo also recognized her. "Princess Ryana! Always a pleasure to see you."

"My dear Lord Duo, you don't know the pleasure you have been missing. I believe I see my brother aboard your ship."

Dagan nodded to her. "I have yet to hear a reason for this detainment. We were about to set a course for Calabria."

"You will have to change your plans," she said with a slight smile. "Our father is extremely ill, and I fear if you do not return now, you may never see him again."

"I will go with you," Shamara said to him as she slipped her hand in his. He could feel that she was afraid that he would be unable return to her, and she feared for his safety. 

"No!" Both Lord Duo and Dagan's sister uttered the word.

Duo gave his reason first. "Your father is surely worried. We must return immediately." Dagan could see that Duo didn't trust his people, and Dagan wondered if he had good reason. Already he considered the man to have good judgment concerning his sister.

"We cannot afford to insult the Teralonians," said Ryana. "She is the betrothed of Prince Avar."

Dagan looked at Shamara and saw that there were tears in her eyes. He could feel the distress in her heart through the touch of his hand. "Do not worry, Shamara. I will come to Calabria after I have seen my father one last time." He framed her face with his hands and tilted it to him. "Nothing will keep me from you."

She sniffed and blinked back her tears. "You had better hurry. If I am forced to wed Avar, I will never forgive you." Shamara puckered her lips for a kiss, but Dagan kissed her forehead. She frowned at him, although she wisely did not berate him before soldiers who might lose respect for him. "At least take Taeron with you."

"No, princess!" Taeron was shocked. "I am pledged to you and you alone."

"I think I saw you leave my side to chase after your silly siblings," she remarked.

"Do not scold your imperial guard," said Dagan. "He is doing as he should, and I will be more at ease if I knew Taeron were protecting you. I have my own men now to keep me safe."

"If you are finished appeasing the Calabrian princess, I would ask you to accompany your captain to board our barge. You shall travel back to Bayman in comfort, not to Calabria in that garbage scow." Ryana's face disappeared from the viewing screen.

Dagan looked at Duo. "I must apologize for my sister's words."

"No need. I already know she is a bitch." Duo placed a hand on Dagan's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "I expect to see you before the feathered prince makes her his wife."

He nodded, then glanced one more time at Shamara to see her bottom lip trembling and tears glistening in her eyes. "Dare I hope that you love me, Shamara?"

She sniffed again. "Why don't you ask the gods?"

He was smiling as he left the ship with his men. They transported him from the Calabrian ship to his family's barge on a fighter. Once he was safely aboard, the fighters made a formation around the ship and the convoy headed toward Bayman. A servant showed Dagan to a luxurious apartment, but he was alone for only a few moments before the door slid open and his sister walked in accompanied by another woman.

"Oxana!" Dagan didn't think he would ever see her again. "But how…?"

"You left me on that horrid planet!" she cried angrily. "How could you do such a thing after all I have done for you?"

"You didn't do anything for me any other whore couldn't have done." Dagan noticed his sister's sly smile. "I suppose you are acquainted with Oxana."

Ryana put her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "I won't bore you with the details, dear brother, but suffice to say, when I asked her to keep you in line, she was more than happy to do so for the enormous fee I was paying her." Suddenly Ryana slapped Oxana so hard that she fell to the floor at Dagan's feet. "Unfortunately, once a whore, always a whore. Apparently you weren't enough for her."

Dagan didn't even look at the whimpering female at his feet. "Is my father truly ill?"

"Of course!" Ryana prodded Oxana with her foot. "Get us something cool to drink." As Oxana hurried to obey, Ryana made herself comfortable on the pillows scattered on the floor. Dagan couldn't imagine why she had arranged her garment to give him a view of a goodly amount of her bosom or almost the entire length of her leg. "My dear brother, come sit with me while I explain what has happened during your considerable absence."

"I prefer to stand." Dagan didn't look at Oxana when she handed him a golden goblet of chilled juice.

"Bring me mine, you stupid slut, and get out!" Ryana glared at Oxana as she did as commanded, and she didn't look at Dagan until the other woman had left the room. "I think we can speak freely now."

Dagan sipped from the drink, then decided to sit.

"You have been gone a long time, brother. In your absence, there have been some changes." Ryana twirled a lock of her dark hair around her fingers, and her predatory glance at him unnerved Dagan.

"You mentioned our father's health," he prompted her.

She sipped her drink then said, "The shock of hearing of your death undid him, I fear." She raised a brow. "Perhaps you can explain why the Calabrians would make such a claim. If it was some trickery on their part to put an end to your betrothal to Princess Shamara…"

"There is no need for you to call upon the legions to go into battle for my honor, sister. Princess Shamara had no wish to marry me, so I thought it best that the Calabrians leave me behind. Father had already told me that I could not return without her." Dagan sighed as he stared into his own drink. "I did not believe it would cause any harm to our father." Dagan didn't think his father cared about him, so he was surprised that news of his death would affect him so detrimentally.

"Father has been so incapacitated by news of your death that I have taken over many of his official duties." Ryana leaned toward Dagan so that her gown gaped open, giving him a view of his sister that he did not want. He quickly looked away. "I have no desire for that to change, dear brother."

He forced himself to look at her. "What are you suggesting?"

"The marriage with Princess Shamara can no longer take place. She has made an oath to Avar of Teralon."

Before she could continue, Dagan interrupted. "She was my bride before she became his betrothed."

Ryana wagged her finger at him. "Shame, shame, Dagan! Did you mate with Avar's woman? Did she please you so well that you would risk taking Bayman to war with Teralon and possibly Calabria when Emperor Trey learns of the dishonor you have brought to his house?"

"Princess Shamara is as pure as the day she left her father's house!" Dagan wanted to slap the disbelieving smile from his sister's face.

"The truth of that statement is between you, Shamara and Avar."

"Avar is not worthy of Shamara, and I intend to go to Calabria to prove that the gods favor me."

Ryana seemed annoyed, and then she laughed and tossed back her hair. "Silly Dagan! He would skewer you before you could find the strength to raise a sword." She slid over the pillows toward him and laid her hand on his chest. "We have our own traditions. The gods would favor a match between us, Dagan, just as they have for generations before us."

Dagan shoved her away and stood. "I would sooner mate a dog than consider you, sister."

Before his eyes, her image blurred and she suddenly transformed into a sleek, long-legged hunting dog. Dagan backed away as he stared at her incredulously and just as smoothly her form changed to her own again.

"I can be whatever or whoever you want," she said with a sly smile.

Dagan continued to stare at her. "What sort of magic…?"

"The same magic that flows from within you." Ryana stood to face him.

"You have never had such power!" Dagan feared that he would be forced to marry his sister just as his mother had been forced to marry her brother.

"Why fight it?" Ryana's hair slowly changed from dark to white and he found himself facing Oxana. "Are you so sure we have not already been together?"

Dagan's knees were weak and he felt sick to his stomach. "Get out! Regardless of your new position, I am still our father's heir, and upon his death I will rule Bayman."

She returned to her own image, and her eyes were narrowed as she glared at him. "You would be wise to accustom yourself to what the elders will expect of you when we return."

"Are you challenging me?" Dagan wasn't sure what her powers were beyond her shape shifting.

Without answering, Ryana tossed back her hair and headed to the door. "If there is anything you desire, Oxana will be happy to serve you."

When she had gone, Dagan began to pace as his thoughts collided in a confused jumble. If Ryana truly possessed powers, the elders might expect him to marry her. Although they had thoroughly examined her when he had come of age and judged unfit to be his bride, the elders might change their minds. Dagan wondered if she had already courted their approval in his absence and if his fight was over before it had begun. 

He remembered the fear Shamara felt when they had parted, that she was afraid something would hold them apart. Dagan would rather be consumed by a boreworm than disappoint her. Dagan knew there could be no other woman for him, especially since the moment when their hands had joined on the colony when they faced the beast Magnar had become. Their powers were meant to come together. Dagan knew before that moment that she was his other half, but he had no way of knowing if Shamara felt the same.

The door slid open, and Dagan was about to snap at Oxana to leave him in peace when he saw that his teacher shuffled into the room.

"Master Nazzar!" In the excitement of escaping Mars Colony, he had forgotten his teacher. "How did you get here?"

Master Nazzar frowned. "I'll tell you how I did not get here; my pupil did not see fit to escort his aging mentor to a transport."

Dagan fell to his knees before the old man. "Forgive me, master!"

He chuckled as he laid a hand on his head. "All is well. Would you believe that I hid in Oxana's trunk?"

Dagan snorted with laughter and hurried to pour the old man a drink of juice. "I hope I have at least learned to disbelieve such foolishness."

He took the drink from Dagan and drained the cup before setting it aside and sitting on a bench near the viewing screen where stars seemed to pass by as the transport headed toward Bayman. "You have learned many lessons the gods have intended for you. Some are yet to be learned."

Dagan joined him on the bench. "Did the gods intend for me to fall in love with Shamara of Calabria only to have her taken from me?"

Nazzar raised one of his bushy white brows. "How so? Have you not agreed to go to Calabria after you assure your father that you yet live?"

"What will happen when the elders discover that Ryana has developed her powers?"

"Powers?" Nazzar raised a brow. "She has no power of her own. I was one who examined her, and I assure you that she had no potential to gain any."

"I have witnessed them with my own eyes not more than a few moments ago." Dagan explained to his master what he had seen.

Master Nazzar stroked his chin. "Interesting! She had no such ability before her trip to Mars Colony."

"My sister was on Mars Colony?" Before Nazzar responded, Dagan remembered the familiar voice he had heard speaking to Quatre Winner the night Taeron and Shamara had tried to rescue him.

"She transported her spy to Mars Colony," Nazzar told him. "Oxana had a luxurious trip to the human system, not a cramped ride in my trunk. Besides, my pupil, when have I ever traveled with more than my bag? I do not think you listened to her words because you did not care how she came to you."

"You are right," sighed Dagan. "I was very foolish concerning Oxana. I believed that I loved her."

"Now you know that you were mistaken. But how can you be sure that you love the Calabrian princess?" Nazzar's brows were raised in question.

"I know now what love is."

"What of Shamara?"

Dagan couldn't answer for her. If Shamara did have feelings for him, they were buried under a mountain of duty and obligation. She might not recognize any feelings of her own. To help her sister, she had returned to him although she was still very angry and upset about Oxana. Did Shamara even know what love was, she whose parents' epic love was spoken of in awe across the binary star system? Perhaps Dagan felt it because he had never seen it between his parents, and Shamara was blinded to what she saw every day.

"You do not answer," remarked Nazzar, letting loose a breath he had been holding.

Dagan glanced at him. "I do not know her heart."

Nazzar reached out to touch his hand. "You must earn her love, Dagan." His eyes met Dagan's. "I think you have become sleepy."

"I am very sleepy." From somewhere deep within he wondered where this tiredness had come from, but he moved away from the bench and dropped down on the pillows. He could not keep his eyes open, and as he drifted away, he thought he heard Nazzar chanting.

__

"A remarkable day for an unremarkable hunt."

His eyes opened and he found himself riding a horse-like animal and beside him on another, he recognized Camrin.

"What say you, Dagmaeus? Shall we return to the hills were we can warm ourselves with the lovely maidens who throw themselves at your feet?" Camrin rubbed his hands together and blew warm air on them. "Have you powers to bring a warm wind my way?"

"My power is not to be used in selfish gain," he heard himself say. "Perhaps you are right. We should return to village before the setting of the second sun."

They turned their horses homeward, but the howl in the distance startled the animals and they had some trouble controlling them as a flock of birds took flight overhead.

"Did you hear that?" asked Camrin. "I vow that was a wolf! The day may yet be salvaged."

"There are few wolves," he said. "I do not wish to hunt one." He would have continued toward home had Camrin not seized the bridle of his horse.

"What has happened to your spirit, Dagmaeus, since your father granted you your powers? I thought we were going to enjoy ourselves!"

He didn't want to disappoint his foster brother. He and Camrin had grown up together after Camrin was found in the forest abandoned. There was talk of an evil spirit within Camrin, but Dagmaeus had never seen it in his dear brother. "Perhaps it would not hurt to hunt the beast to see it."

Camrin slapped him on the back. "Here is the brother I remember."

He released the eagle tethered to his wrist and watched it take flight in search of the animal. Both he and Camrin waited until the eagle began to circle before they spurred their horses into the direction indicated by the bird and soon came upon the clearing where they spotted the wolf. He had never seen such a beautiful animal. With a coat of long, silver fur, its eyes were a startling blue color. When they approached, it bared its teeth, then sprang away into the forest. Camrin instantly surged after it although Dagmaeus had said they would only see it. He knew only killing the beast would satisfy Camrin, so he charged after his foster brother.

The wolf eluded them throughout the day, and when Dagmaeus would have returned to the palace, Camrin insisted they stay in the frigid wild. He should have insisted, but he could not refuse Camrin. The eagle brought them back a rabbit to eat and perched throughout the night near Dagmaeus. He would much prefer the comfort of his own bed. Closing his eyes, he decided that in the morning they would return to his father's palace.

"Your highness, we have arrived."

Dagan's eyes snapped open, and he found Oxana hovering over him. He felt disoriented at first and looked around the luxurious cabin. His dream had felt so real that his body even ached from the hard ground although he slept in a mound of pillows. Master Nazzar was still sitting by the viewing screen, but instead of space, Dagan could see the green of his home planet. He had slept through the trip through space and the landing of the royal barge.

Still groggy, he forced himself to his feet and followed Oxana from the cabin. Ryana was waiting for him outside the ship, and while the guards saluted him, she had apparently won them to her cause because the openly viewed him with contempt. Dagan wondered if she had slept with them all.

"Father is in his room and has already been informed of your return," she told him as they entered the palace. Dagan was afraid she would lead him through the receiving room where he would come face to face with the jaded courtiers who must have spent the time during his absence to toady to Ryana. She must have basked in their attention. But Ryana led him straight to the private apartments of the royal family and to the king's chamber. 

At first Dagan didn't see his father, then he realized the wizened old man lying on his bed was actually Seighen. His servants were plumping his pillows and helping him to sit up in the bed. The older man could not even move without their help. 

Ryana hurried forward and leaned down to whisper in Seighen's ear, and then he opened his eyes and sought out Dagan. Dagan moved toward the bed, his gaze held by his father's, and when he reached the bedside, Seighen pushed Ryana's hands away from him.

"Get out of my sight! I will speak to Dagan alone."

"Father, I am only trying to help you. I think I should stay."

The sound of his slap across her cheek echoed in the room. Ryana put her hand to her face and backed away, then turned to run from the king's chamber. Seighen started to laugh, but he fell into a coughing fit, and Dagan didn't know if he should try to help him. The servants scurried from the room after Ryana, so they obviously no longer served his father.

When the coughing subsided, Seighen beckoned him forward and Dagan obeyed, reaching his bedside and pouring him a cup of water from a pitcher by the bed. His father slapped the golden cup away and it clattered across the floor.

"It is poisoned! Everything in this damn palace is poisoned!"

Dagan wondered if his father had gone insane.

Seighen grunted. "So you are alive, and still as dim-witted as when you left."

If he ever had any doubt about his father's contempt, it was cleared now. "I am sorry to disappoint you. I was told you fell into decline hearing of my death, but I see that was a lie."

"Your very clever sister's lie. She poisons the food I eat, what I drink, and the air I breathe, all in anticipation that she will succeed me. Unfortunately for her, you are yet alive."

"Unfortunately for you, too, it would appear."

Seighen snorted. "You didn't bring the Calabrian princess back with you as I ordered. You have managed to bungle that agreement, and now it is over. I have heard the servants whispering that you intend to challenge Avar of Teralon. What worm is eating a hole through your brain? You cannot hope to win a duel against him!"

"I must try," stated Dagan. "I love Shamara, and I will have her for my wife."

"Love! Ha! I think you loved that whore Ryana put in your bed. Yes, the whole court knew about that lunacy and laughed behind your back. You will have no respect from them!"

Dagan was even more ashamed now than when he discovered that Master Nazzar had known about Oxana. Perhaps he wasn't fit to rule Bayman or even to earn Shamara's love.

His father sighed deeply and Dagan could hear rattling in his chest. "There is nothing left but for you to go to Calabria. I cannot say I understand what you feel for that young woman, but I do know that it was destined to happen." His eyes met Dagan's, and he saw great sadness in them. "I resented you, Dagan, from the moment of your birth. My father was always distant from me, and in rebellion to his lack of affection, I tried to find solace with the woman who gave me Ryana. He was angry that I would flout our traditions and hurt your mother, my sister, by openly keeping Ryana's mother – I don't even remember her name – in my apartments. Your mother wanted nothing to do with me and I wanted even less to do with her, but my father forced us to do our duty. Upon your birth, my father passed his powers. I have always suspected that there was more, but I was never able to discover what because Nazzar appeared to take you and your mother away. I didn't care. I was glad my father was dead, and equally glad that I didn't have to see your mother again."

"Why are you telling me this?" demanded Dagan. "Is it because you haven't destroyed enough of my self-confidence?"

Seighen sighed. "I knew my duty, son. I did what I had to. There was no love between your mother and I. When I called her back to court to produce the female child, your mate, she refused at first. Then when she came, Ryana became infuriated and poisoned her. In attempting to thwart a true succession, your foolish sister has forced the final confrontation."

"What are you talking about?" Dagan was sure the poison Ryana was allegedly feeding him had harmed his father's mental capacity. Hearing his father's story and knowing it to be true, Dagan thought the old man way dying of gall.

"The legend of Dagmaeus, you fool!" He grabbed Dagan's arm and dragged him close so that he could whisper. " I have discovered your secret. You carry the spirit of the god himself within you, Dagan. You wield the powers of Dagmaeus, and soon you will fight the final battle. But you can succeed only if the sacred shield finds you more worthy than Camridaeus."

"You are insane!" Dagan shoved him away and stumbled back from the bed. "I have Guerani powers and naught else."

His father reared up from the pillows and his eyes were burning. "You young fool! You will be no match for the mignons of Camridaeus! Dagmaeus took the dark powers with him when he left, leaving behind only the white powers for the ancestors who were the guardians of the sacred shield."

"And what of Camridaeus? What became of him?" scoffed Dagan. 

"No one knows what became of him, but his followers are legion. Your sister is a priestess of a sect of which Oxana is also a member. There are many at court that worship the dark lord each night in the bowels of this palace. I have heard that they can summon the beasts of Camridaeus' domain." His father was becoming frighteningly terrified by what he was saying. "If Princess Shamara is the sacred shield, you must take her away from Avar even if it means killing him."

"And since I am so incompetent, how do you propose I do that?" Dagan decided to humor the old man. 

Seighen fell weakly back against the pillows and closed his eyes. "I do not know. If the fate of our worlds rests in your hands, we are doomed."

Gritting his teeth, Dagan turned on his heel and left his father's chamber, pausing at the door to warn the servant that his sister was not allowed in Seighen's presence. Then he went in search of his sister's chambers which were not far from his own, and while the servants hurried to open the doors to his chamber, he walked past and barged into Ryana's. She was in her bathing pool while a male servant applied soap to her back.

"Get out!" he ordered the young man who scurried out with still soapy hands. Dagan turned his back on Ryana who immediately stepped from the pool.

"You have interrupted my bath. Dare I hope you will join me?"

"Not likely."

"How about now?" She reached out to turn him around, and he found himself looking at Shamara.

Dagan grabbed her around her throat. "Stop this now, or I will break your neck!"

She clawed at his hands, and when he refused to release her, she finally transformed back to her own image. Dagan took his hands away and she fell to the floor at his feet gasping for breath.

"If you ever do that again, sister, I will kill you."

She tossed back her hair and stood, still rubbing her neck. Bruises were already beginning to form. "So the eagle has claws."

"I am here to tell you to stay away from our father. As I yet live and intend to do so to a ripe old age, you have no reason to kill him. He is a senile old man and quite harmless to your diversions." He turned and headed to the door.

Ryana followed him. "What did he tell you?"

"What we discussed is none of your business. Remember my warning." He left her behind and crossed the hall to his own room. There were several servants waiting along with Master Nazzar. There was a table covered with various foods and drink, but Dagan eyed it suspiciously until Nazzar informed him that the food had already been tested and found fit for consumption. As Dagan filled his considerably empty stomach, the servants rushed to spoon food onto his plate and keep his cup filled. Nazzar didn't speak as he ate also, and it wasn't until Dagan was settled in his warm bath that he brought up what his father had told him.

"I think he has lost all reason," finished Dagan. He was leaning forward as a pretty young serving girl scrubbed his back. She was obviously expecting to spend the night, so she was going to be disappointed when he sent her back to her own bed.

Nazzar nodded. "Perhaps. You say he told you that Ryana is a priestess?"

"Of a bunch of bored courtiers who probably go into the dungeons to have an orgy." He stopped the girl from sliding her hands down his body under the waterline. "You may go."

She pouted as she dried her hands. "Are you sure, your highness? I can keep you very warm."

"So can a thick blanket."

Nazzar chuckled when she had gone. "Perhaps you have learned your lesson about females."

"I don't have enough experience with females to be able to consider it lessons." He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed to the huge bed. "I hope there are guards outside my door." He snickered as he laid his head on his pillow. "They will need to keep the legions of Camridaeus' monsters from interrupting my sleep."

Nazzar laughed. "More than likely they will need to keep the legions of women who want to be the prince's next plaything."

Dagan closed his eyes and tried to conjure Shamara, but he could not reach her. Was she too far away to hear his call? Perhaps she was too busy listening to Avar's flattery to answer him. His eyes drifted shut, and he thought he heard Nazzar's voice, but he was too sleepy to repeat what he had said.

__

"We have the damned beast trapped now!"

"Stop!" ordered Dagmaeus, but Camrin did not listen as he charged after the wolf, chasing it into a canyon from which there was only one way to escape. They had been hunting the beast for days now, Camrin refusing to quit and Dagmaeus following after him to be assured his brother would not be killed in his reckless pursuit.

As Camrin suspected, the exhausted wolf had to stop at the end of the canyon where there stood a huge tree with wide, spreading branches. His eagle circled above, but Dagmaeus' horse whinnied, and Camrin's steed pranced back away from the tree.

"There is magic in this canyon," said Dagmaeus in awe as a mist began to descend upon them. "We should go."

"I have no intention of going now!" Camrin leapt from the back of his unruly animal, and seizing a dagger, stalked cautiously toward the wolf now lying at the foot of the tree, its tongue hanging out as it panted probably its last breaths. "I am going to keep myself warm with the coat of this wolf."

The mist swirled as the wolf whined, but Camrin continued. Dagmaeus dismounted and followed him, regretting his inability to deny his friend and foster brother anything, even the life of this magnificent and brave animal.

But just as Camrin came upon the wolf, a movement in the branches above alerted him and he jumped back just as some bizarre woodland beast dropped onto the ground between him and the wolf. The creature was filthy and long haired, and stood waving what appeared to be a makeshift spear with a sharpened stone on the end. Camrin would have attacked it, had Dagmaeus not grabbed his arm and thrust him back.

"Fool! Can you not see this is the protector of the wolf?"

"I want that pelt and no protector is going to stand in my way."

"You cannot take the life of another!" Dagmaeus shoved him aside and approached the creature. He easily grabbed the spear from its hand and tossed it aside, then he seized its arm to still its movements.

"Let me go!" The voice was definitely female, and looking beyond the dirt, Dagmaeus could see the feminine shape almost hidden by the masses of long, ratted hair of indeterminate color.

"I am not going to hurt you," he said gently.

"I will," volunteered Camrin. "Get the slut out of the way so I might take my prize."

She looked frantically from him to Dagmaeus. "Please, lord, do not let him kill the wolf. She is very old."

"Who are you?" he asked her.

"I have no name. I have lived in these woods most of my life with an old Guerani woman. One day I found this wolf injured and I have cared for her since."

"You were very brave to approach a wolf." Dagmaeus found her blue eyes disconcerting.

"Are you done flirting with the hag?" asked Camrin impatiently. "I am cold and the fur will keep me quite warm."

She looked at him with deep, imploring eyes. "My lord, if a life must be taken, then take mine, but let my dear wolf go."

"He will take you, all right, but not your life," snorted Camrin.

Dagmaeus looked at his friend. "Put your dagger away. The wolf fought valiantly and led us on a merry chase. If you are disappointed, then it is your own fault when I clearly told you we would not kill the animal."

Camrin hesitated, then shoved his dagger in his belt. "Then let me have the woman. I was hoping to have the fur wrapped around me, but I will settle for her."

She moved closer to Dagmaeus.

"She is not an object to be handed back and forth. We will take her back to the old woman's hut…"

"She is long dead," admitted the young woman. "I have lived alone for many moons except for the wolf."

"Then no one will miss you," commented Camrin, his tone ominous.

Dagmaeus drew off his fur-lined cloak and put it around the shivering girl who was dressed in little better than tattered rags. "You will come back with us. I am sure you can find work in my father's palace."

Before he could lead her away, she hurried back to the wolf, and after a moment of caressing the animal, she returned to him, but there were tears in her eyes. "She understands that I must leave."

Dagmaeus looked to the sky where the eagle was still circling. "My eagle will protect her until she has recovered."

Her gaze followed his, then she sighed and nodded.

Dagmaeus mounted his horse, then pulled her up before him. Camrin was sneering at them. "Better you than me," he remarked. "Her stench would make my horse unmanageable."

She burrowed into the cloak Dagmaeus had given her, and he could hear her muffled sobs as they left behind the wolf. It howled once as they left the canyon, and Camrin glanced over his shoulder with his eyes narrowed. Dagmaeus feared that his foster brother did not have a reverence for any life.

Not long after they left the canyon, the second sun began to set, so they made a camp. He suspected Camrin would try to take the girl, but he kept his distance. The effort of the arduous pursuit of the wolf seemed to have taken its toll on Camrin because he didn't even speak before rolling up in his furs near the fire Dagmaeus had created. Dagmaeus had given his own furs to the girl, but she seemed reluctant to use them.

"I have no need of them," he told her. The cold no longer affected him, since he had been given the power of fire.

"I couldn't." She seemed to become self-conscious. "I…I have not bathed in so very long. The water is too cold and to keep warm I slept with the wolf."

Dagmaeus knew that Camrin's remark had disturbed her. "We can remedy that." He took her arm and they quietly left the camp where Camrin was sleeping and walked without speaking until they came to a small stream that was almost completely frozen. "You may bathe here."

"You will have to chop the ice first," she commented almost sarcastically.

Dagmaeus smiled, then held out his hands. Within seconds the ice melted and steam began to rise from the water. "Take your time." Although she didn't seem to understand the concept of modesty and began to pull off her ragged clothing, Dagmaeus turned his back. When he heard her splashing in the water, he picked up the garments and carried them away. She was enjoying her hot bath so much she did not even notice. Returning to the camp, he tossed them in the fire and dug into his bag to find a cleaner tunic and belt that would serve her well enough until they reached the village. Camrin was still sleeping and did not move.

When he went back to the stream, he kept his eyes averted and tossed her a bar of soap he had gotten from his bag with the tunic. "When you have finished, return to the camp. I have brought you clean clothing."

She did not respond, but he heard her humming before she called out, "This soap smells much better than the soap the hag bathed in."

He chuckled, then left her to her bath. Camrin still did not rise, and Dagmaeus was glad because he was annoyed with his friend. He sat before the fire in the camp and stared into the flames, hoping to see a glimpse of the future, but he saw nothing. What was to become of him now that he had his power and the poor, ignorant people of the hills regarded him as a god? He was just a man with an unusual talent. He could bleed and die like they could, but they would never know because they threw themselves onto the ground in worship when he passed. 

"Thank you, my lord." The soap dropped beside him, and he looked up to see the woman running her fingers through her long, wet hair.

"Will you take my furs now?" he asked, not taking his eyes from her face. Although he could not see it well in the light of one moon as the other was hidden in clouds, he thought the shape was quite lovely. Dagmaeus predicted he would have to protect her from Camrin.

She took the furs and wrapped herself tightly. "What trick is it that you can make fire?"

"Simply a talent of mine."

"It is a talent that is very useful in these mountains." She lay on the ground and burrowed into the furs. "Good night, kind lord."

Waking the following morning, Dagan was surprised to find his bed surrounded by several old men. They stared down at him as if he were a fish in a pond, and Dagan quickly covered himself and looked around the room for Master Nazzar. He had been standing at the window, but moved to the bed when he noticed Dagan had awakened.

"You slept for a very long time," observed his teacher.

Dagan glanced at the other old men who did not even blink as they stared at him. "Who are these people?"

"The elders," responded Nazzar. "They have not seen you since you were a child, and when they arrived this morning after traveling the night to see you, I could not turn them away."

Dagan couldn't imagine what they found so interesting about him, but they seemed pleased by the sight of him. One leaned over to whisper to another who nodded in response. "Are they planning to stay all morning?"

"It is late afternoon." Nazzar chuckled. "You slept again for a very long time. Was your dream so engrossing?"

Although it hardly seemed possible, the last two of Dagan's dreams had seemed to happen in real time. Were they dreams, or was it another type of trance? Had the gods drawn him into their world?

"Does he have complete control of his powers?" asked another of the men.

"Has he used his powers for just purposes?"

Dagan frowned at the men. "You can speak to me. I have the power of speech."

Nazzar snickered. "Men, Prince Dagan has other duties. I will answer all your questions in due time."

"Other duties?" Dagan knew nothing of the court and his actual duties. He didn't really want to leave his chamber, but once the elders had gone without addressing him directly, Nazzar hurried him into his clothing and pushed Dagan out the door of his chamber. The guards escorted him to his father's office where the king usually received visitors and conducted his business. Almost immediately several men and women he vaguely remembered as advisors rushed at him, all talking at once. Dagan wished Shamara were with him to throw up one of her shields. By late evening when the last dissatisfied man left grumbling about his inexperience, Dagan knew he would rather be fighting seven headed dragons than face those people again. The desk was piled with petitions, and notes he had taken were scattered amongst them. He was sure he would never get their names straight let alone understand the complexities of ruling Bayman. Why had his father let him waste his time in the hills with Master Nazzar when there were important things for him to learn at the palace?

He was so exhausted when he returned to his room, that he didn't eat. Master Nazzar must have been entertaining the elders elsewhere because he was not in his room, nor did he reappear in the following days as Dagan struggled to control his father's kingdom. Dagan visited Seighen each day, but the experience left him feeling like a useless idiot when his father disagreed with any decisions he made. Dagan was usually left with the humiliating responsibility of calling back his advisors to rescind his previous orders. 

Almost a week went by before he found the courage to eat his evening meal in the banquet hall with the courtiers and high nobility. The first time he entered the hall, a hush swept through the room and in complete silence he approached the high table where his sister sat with her admirers.

"I believe you are sitting in my chair," he said.

The half-naked young man draped over her moved away and Ryana stared at him in disgust. "You have earned this only by your gender."

Dagan pointed to her goblet and the liquid began to bubble and froth over the edge before bursting into flames. Ryana scrambled away from the chair and Dagan calmly sat down, picked up the goblet, and after blowing cool air over it so that a frost developed, he raised it to toast his sister. "I believe I have other qualifications that give me the right to this chair."

Ryana turned, and with a toss of her head, she walked out. Half the men and women gathered also left the table. Those who remained cast each other questioning glances, and Dagan knew they were unsure of whom to fear. He guessed those who sided with Ryana habitually attended her sideshow in the dungeon.

Because he was at Ryana's place at the table and she had already begun her meal, Dagan didn't have to fear poison. Another handful of men drifted away from the table before finishing their meals. Or the scrape of a utensil against the china broke the silence.

Finally a man sitting near Dagan who was dressed conservatively compared with the bright and gaudy clothing of the others spoke to him. "Your highness, is it true that you intend to challenge Avar of Teralon in physical combat?"

Dagan looked at him. "I am sorry, but I do not know your name."

He bowed his head in deference. "I am Vanig, a palace guard."

"I must do so to claim my bride," he told Vanig. He suspected the lowly guard had caught Ryana's eye. Men of his station usually took their meals in the soldiers' barracks.

Vanig sighed deeply and shook his head. "I have seen him fight in practice. Forgive my impertinence, your highness, but I think your chances are very dismal against him."

"I have been told so repeatedly," said Dagan wryly.

"You may wish to train, although I doubt unless you have several years that you can adequately prepare yourself for him. I have heard that he is as skilled as an imperial guard of Calabria, although I have never seen the fighting skill of one."

Dagan thought of Taeron. "Believe me, you don't want to fight an imperial guard. I cannot believe Avar is their equal in comparison."

"I would be willing to train you, your highness."

The entire galaxy would be shocked when he defeated Avar. Dagan was glad Shamara had already arranged with Avar to lose the duel. "I regret that I do not have the time…"

"I would be honored!" Vanig exclaimed. "I beg you to reconsider. There is always time to learn the skills to defend yourself."

Apparently Vanig had been too busy eating to see how he had chased Ryana from the room. "I suppose I could get up a little earlier in the morning."

Vanig grinned and Dagan thought he would explode with delight. Dagan hoped he wasn't making a mistake. The following morning he was sure that he _had_ made a mistake as Vanig continued to swing his sword although Dagan was on his knees all but cowering under his own. Each time the metal struck, sparks flew and Dagan's muscles shuddered and his teeth rattled. Finally Vanig slipped his sword in its sheath, then slapped Dagan on back so hard that he fell forward, flat on his face.

"Very good, your highness!"

Dagan groaned as he tried to lift his head from the cool flagstones beneath his cheek. 

"I will see you tomorrow at the same time." Vanig walked away whistling.

Instead of going about his duties, Dagan dragged himself back to his chambers where he found Master Nazzar waiting. He raised his bushy brows in amusement when he saw the shape Vanig had left him in.

"Are you sure he is not one of your sister's disciples?"

Dagan had considered the possibility, but Vanig seemed too open and innocent. He was a beefy, brainless fool that would be putty in Ryana's hands but not bright enough to do her dirty work.

"You should rest," suggested Nazzar.

"I believe I shall." Dagan's head hit the pillow and he could hear Nazzar mumbling before he drifted into sleep.


	28. Dagan must take a stand

****

Royal Palace, Bayman

__

"It is too damn cold to be out. Send a little warm air over this way, my brother and wake up the wolf girl."

Dagmaeus smiled and created a warm breeze that pleased Camrin who smiled and nodded his thanks before turning back to packing his furs behind his saddle. Dagmaeus approached the warm nest the girl had made for herself. She was completely covered and hidden in a cocoon of rabbit pelts. He gently nudged her, but she did no more than groan and turn away.

"I'm looking forward to the warmth of your father's hearth," commented Camrin as he came to Dagmaeus. "Isn't she awake? You are far too warm-hearted, brother." 

Before Dagmaeus could prevent him, Camrin seized the edge of the fur and jerked it so that the girl rolled out onto the cold ground. Neither of them spoke as she gasped and threw back hair more golden than the sun to glare at them with eyes more blue than the sky. Dagmaeus could honestly say that he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life.

"What happened to the wretched, malodorous waif?" asked Camrin with amusement. "Brother, did you conjure this female to ease the pain of my lost prize?" He reached for her, but she scurried away from his touch. She looked at Dagmaeus with eyes round by panic.

Dagmaeus frowned. This was bound to be more trouble than the wolf. "This is the wolf girl," he told Camrin as he gathered the furs to pack on his horse. "While you slept, she bathed."

"Is that your tunic on her? I vow I recognize your mother's stitching. You did not, perchance, bathe with her, did you? I should not have gone to sleep so early when there were delights to be had."

In the past they had been as careless as any young men with the women who came across their paths, but Dagmaeus was disgusted to hear Camrin speaking about the girl in such a manner. "I did naught but provide her with warm water and a change of clothing."

"Then there is yet hope for me." One side of his lips raised in a nasty smile. "Your horse was over-burdened yesterday, so today I shall take the girl with me."

Dagmaeus wanted to refuse, but he had no desire to cause bad blood with Camrin over the nameless orphan. She was shivering with cold, so he tossed his cape to her, then mounted his horse. She tried to follow him, but Camrin hooked an arm around her waist and hauled her to his own. He mounted and pulled her up before him, and Dagmaeus had to look away from the pleading look in her eyes.

Dagmaeus led the way, and after less than an hour, Camrin began to maul the girl. He could hear her whimpering and begging him to stop, but Dagmaeus forced himself not to turn around. He told himself that she was no different from any other female, but he had difficulty forgetting the look in her eyes. She had trusted him and he had ignored her.

Annoyed with his lack of indifference, Dagmaeus turned back to see that Camrin's hands had disappeared beneath her cloak and she sat biting her lip as tears ran down her cheeks. "Brother, I will take the girl with me." He moved his horse close to Camrin's which tried to nip at it. Dagmaeus kicked it, then pulled her away from Camrin who put up a token resistance.

Instead of becoming angry, Camrin laughed. "You are only delaying the inevitable. Tonight when you are deciding amongst the beauties throwing themselves at your feet, I will be mounting the wolf girl." He spurred his horse forward, and Dagmaeus could hear him laughing.

He settled her comfortably before him and wiped away her tears with the backs of his fingers. "I am sorry," he said softly.

She sniffed and wiped her runny nose. "Can you take me back?"

"What for?" he said with a sigh. "He will come out to hunt you down."

"He smells of evil."

Dagmaeus did not know how to respond, so he changed the subject. "Are you sure you have never had a name?"

"The hag who cared for me did not call me anything."

"She was not your mother?"

The girl shook her head. "She claimed to not know who my mother and father were, but I think she did. She told me I was born under an unlucky star, that because of my destiny, my mother and father abandoned me in the forest."

Like Camrin, thought Dagmaeus. "Well, we can't let you wander around without a name."

"I do not know yours," she said almost shyly.

"Dagmar." He didn't want to admit to the name he had been given only recently. 

"Dagmar." She smiled at him. He liked how she said his name.

"What shall we call you?" He thought for a moment, then said, "We shall call you Ulfyna because you protected the wolf."

"Do you think it is a pretty name?" she asked, then lowered her eyes and her cheeks became pink with a blush.

He smiled but did not answer her. If the name were not pretty before, he thought it absolutely beautiful now. She settled comfortably against him and they continued on in silence, following Camrin who didn't so much as turn around to look at them. Dagmaeus thought his silence was unusual but dismissed it as annoyance at being denied twice within the last day. Later he would make it up to him.

When they arrived in the village beneath his father's palace, the people spilled onto the street to cheer him, shouting the name he had recently been given. Women and children tossed flowers, and men surged forward to ask his blessing on their homes. Dagmaeus felt overwhelmed, and he could feel Ulfyna's fear in the fingers she curled into the fabric of his tunic and the trembling of her slight form. He did what he could to appease them as Camrin disappeared ahead. They did not reach the palace until hours later. Camrin came to greet them with a warm drink, and Dagmaeus could see that he had already bathed and changed. Dagmaeus could see that he was laughing at him by the twinkle in his eyes.

"Have you cured the sick and dying?" he asked.

Dagmaeus frowned. "I have no such power."

Camrin's blue eyes shifted to Ulfyna who instantly moved closer to Dagmaeus. "You have the power to turn hideous trolls into nymphs."

Dagmaeus wanted to get her out of Camrin's sight as soon as possible. "I should greet my mother and father."

Extending his hand, Camrin smirked at Ulfyna. "Come with me, wolf girl. I know exactly what services you can provide in the palace."

"She is coming with me." Without explaining, Dagmaeus turned her away and ignored the suggestive shouts of the guards Camrin re-joined by the fire.

"He frightens me," Ulfyna told him.

"I will keep him from harming you." He should have gone to his father first, but he could not bring Ulfyna into Iator's presence. That would be even worse than tossing her to Camrin. Iator already had a collection of beautiful women to serve him.

So he went to the wing of the palace where his mother held her own court. Dagmaeus had seen his parents together only once and could barely understand how and why they had created him. Queen Rahina came to greet him immediately, but she said nothing about the female he had brought with him as she kissed his cheeks and took his hands to draw him further into her domain. While his father surrounded himself with rowdy men and gaudy women, she attracted quiet, studious followers. They concerned themselves with healing mind, body and spirit. Dagmaeus often sought her presence when he was troubled.

"We have already heard of Camrin's unsuccessful hunt," said his mother as she settled on a chair and took up her sewing. She did not even look at Ulfyna.

Dagmaeus knew she would wait for his explanation. "Mother, I would ask a favor of you."

She didn't look up from her sewing. "I presume you want me to do something about the vine clinging to you."

"I hoped that you might find a use for her."

His dark-eyed mother looked up now, and he could see that she was annoyed. "I do not even care to have your woman in my presence now, and you ask me to find a place for her? I am disappointed by your lack of discretion."

"She's not my woman!" Her accusation angered him. "I only ask that you protect her."

She raised a brow. "If I protect her from Camrin, I shall also be protecting her from you. Is this what you want?"

"I have no interest in her." Dagmaeus hoped he wasn't lying. He told himself that he was merely trying to help the orphaned young woman.

"What is her name?" Rahina set aside her sewing and stood.

"She had no name, but I have given her one. I call her Ulfyna."

Rahina held out her hands. "Come to me, Ulfyna. You may serve me until the day you wish to leave."

Reluctantly, she left Dagmaeus' side, and he knew that the gentleness of his mother as well as the persuasion in her eyes had put Ulfyna at ease. She took her hands, and Dagmaeus knew that his mother was gathering all the knowledge she needed from her touch. Finally she released her then called to another servant to take Ulfyna away to settle in.

When Ulfyna had been gone for a few moments, his mother looked at him. "You know nothing of her, do you?"

"She was left in the forest."

"Just as Camrin was. It would seem I am forever destined to rescue stray creatures." She sat in her chair and beckoned him forward. Out of habit, he sat at her feet and she put her fingers in his hair. "I didn't want to take him in when your father brought him to me, but I did. He would have died in the forest, just as your Ulfyna would have."

"What can you tell me about her?" Dagmaeus looked up at her.

She sighed deeply. "Only that her destiny is entwined with yours." For some reason, his heart swelled to hear it. "But her destiny is also entwined with Camrin."

If she were meant to be with Camrin, Dagmaeus would not stand in the way. "I want her to be happy."

His mother caressed his cheek, then let her hand drop to her lap. "Are you hungry?" She motioned to one of her servants before he could tell her he was not.

Dagmaeus looked up as the old man handed him a cup.

Dagan jerked awake, and he turned quickly to see Nazzar seated on a bench near the bed. The old man seemed to be deep in thought, but when he saw that Dagan was awake, he came to the bedside, and in his hands he was carrying a cup.

"Are you feeling better?"

Disoriented, Dagan ignored the cup and pushed past Nazzar to get out of bed. "I have much to do."

"Vanig is waiting for you."

Dagan sighed, realizing he must have slept through the night. "I have had disturbing dreams."

"I doubt they are disturbing." Nazzar chuckled. "Certainly not as disturbing as your trances."

Nazzar reminded him of Shamara. "I have not been able to reach Shamara since I have come to Bayman. How can that be when we could be together when she was at her home and I was on Mars Colony? The distance is much greater."

The old man stroked his chin, then said. "I believe there is a disturbance on this world which prevents you from having contact with her."

"What disturbance? Could it by Ryana? She expects me to wed her."

"She does not have true power." 

Dagan suspected Nazzar knew more than he was saying. The ways of his master annoyed Dagan. "Then how can she change her shape? What else can she do that I do not know of?"

"Your highness?" Vanig stood in the doorway.

Dagan could see that Nazzar wasn't going to answer, so he grabbed his sword and followed Vanig out. When Vanig suggested they find a very private spot to train, Dagan knew the guard was concerned that others might see them and find good cause to ridicule the future king of Bayman. So they found a secluded spot in the garden which was almost overgrown with disuse. As he listened to Vanig's instruction and tried to put it into practice, he grew more and more frustrated and angry with both himself and his father. He spent more time with his backside on the ground defending himself than actually attempting an attack.

When they finished after a few hours, Dagan was even more exhausted than the day before, and he certainly understood that should Avar actually fight him, he would be doomed to failure. 

"You have improved in only a day," said Vanig with a big grin.

"You need not lie to me, Vanig." They walked through garden on the way back to the palace. "I could not even best a child."

"Perhaps a female child," remarked Vanig.

Dagan glared at him, then laughed at the smile on his face. "I think you are right!"

They both laughed, but Vanig stopped abruptly suddenly and spun around, swinging his sword to stop the blade that surely would have cracked open Dagan's skull. Dagan stumbled back and pulled his own sword. He could have easily used his powers to destroy the three men who ambushed them, but he chose to fight with his sword. Vanig took on two while Dagan fought the third. Just as he had with Vanig all morning, Dagan was on the defensive, and it took all the skill he possessed to keep himself from being skewered. Vanig was able to defeat both his attackers with no small effort, but instead of coming to Dagan's aid, he sat down on a tree stump to wipe clean the blade of his sword. Dagan realized he was on his own and that he had expected Vanig to rescue him. His fight had been subconsciously calculated to hold off the man until Vanig could finish him. Now Dagan had to kill him because Vanig wasn't going to do anything more than watch.

He was still tired from his training, but Dagan pressed an attack, backing up the masked man until he slipped in the blood of his comrades and fell. Dagan didn't pause in thrusting his blade into him.

Panting and drained, Dagan turned to get Vanig's praise for his victory, but Vanig was shaking his head. "That was a sorry spectacle, your highness."

Dagan wiped sweat from his forehead. "I killed him, didn't I?"

"You took so long an entire legion could have come to his aid. You are lucky there were only the three of them." Vanig nodded to the dead man at Dagan's feet. "Also, he was the last, and therefore your only chance to discover who sent him."

"I don't need to know who sent him."

He didn't bother to wash the blood from him before he hunted down his sister who was holding her own little court in a salon. Those who surrounded her parted when he approached, and by their little smiles and giggles, he knew they were aware of what had happened to him already.

"I thought I would inform you that you have failed," he snapped at Ryana.

She raised a brow. "Brother, you should clean yourself up. Your appearance is most offensive."

"I'm sorry that you have three less men to amuse yourself with." He turned on his heel and headed to the door.

Ryana did not respond, but her admirers burst into laughter, and he walked out.

He went next to his father's chamber where he found the old man sitting up, looking healthy and being fed by two naked young women. Seeing Dagan, he frowned. "Don't put a damper on my recovery, Dagan, with whatever trivial nonsense you have to tell me." The women tried to leave, but he grabbed them both around the waist and pulled them back to him. "He'll be gone soon, then the real fun can start."

"I thought you'd like to know that your daughter just tried to have me killed." Dagan couldn't be more disgusted by what he was seeing. One of the women giggled as the old man buried his face in her ample chest. "Do you want me to return later so that we can discuss a proper punishment?"

"Punishment?" Seighen raised his head to look at Dagan. "Leave the silly slut alone. She has her amusements, and we have ours. I've heard that you have neglected your duties. Get back to work, Dagan, or I will appoint your sister my successor. At least when she was in charge, I wasn't nagged constantly."

Dagan's frustration with his parent had reached a breaking point. "Perhaps you have always intended for her to rule Bayman! It has become crystal clear that you never wished it for me! I haven't the least idea how to deal with administration and I can barely handle a sword to save my life! Just what is my purpose in life?"

Seighen glared at him. "Haven't the gods told you? I thought they might have. As far as I can see, your only purpose up to this point is to annoy the hell out of me. Now get out!"

He could see that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the old man, so Dagan turned on his heel and walked out. There was work to do, but Dagan didn't feel like facing the advisors who were even more brutal than the assassin he had killed. Ryana seemed to find amusement amongst the courtiers, but Dagan thought they were a pack of simple-minded fawning morons who obviously judged him lacking in any authority or they would have been following him around licking his backside by now. That left his chamber. 

But Dagan didn't want to return to his room and to Nazzar who no longer seemed interested in guiding him. His old master was more intent in tucking him in for naps that lasted entire days and were filled with the thoughts and actions of Dagmaeus. Everything seemed so real when he was dreaming, especially the feelings that Dagmaeus experienced. Although he didn't want to return to those dreams, he felt anxious for what the future would bring for the young god. Correction, thought Dagan. He was the young man who was blessed or cursed with the very same powers that Dagan had. How many times had he felt as Dagmaeus, that he wished he had been passed over? But chances were slim that anyone would worship Dagan of Bayman as a god. He had already been scorned as a fool.

"Your highness, the ambassador from Calabria is waiting to see you in your office."

Relieved that he would be hearing from Shamara, Dagan hurried to his father's receiving room. The many petitioners quieted when he entered, and Dagan instantly recognized the man waiting for him.

"Lord Duo!" Dagan half expected Shamara to be standing behind him, but to his disappointment he was alone except for a couple of Calabrian soldiers.

Lord Duo bowed to him, then straightened. He raised a brow as he took in Dagan's appearance although he did not ask about it. He was splattered with dried blood and his clothing was torn. Dagan knew he was a filthy mess, but he didn't care. "This is an official visit, Prince Dagan. I come on behalf of Emperor Trey. He regrets to inform you that the agreement between your father and him must be considered null and void. In your absence, Princess Shamara has made an oath to marry Avar of Teralon."

Nothing he said was new, nor was it unexpected, but the official breaking of their agreement was a necessity, just as his challenge was now. "The agreement between Trey and my father was made many years ago," he began, but a disturbance at the door made him pause and Dagan was annoyed to see the two women he had seen too much of earlier, helping his father into the room. Damn! What did the old coot want to do?

"Lord Duo, nice to see you again!" When he was settled on his throne, Seighen winked at the women, now dressed in little more than they were earlier, who blushed and drifted back into the crowd. If Seighen had the energy to cavort with them, Dagan thought he surely had the energy to deal with his kingdom. "I hope I didn't miss anything."

Duo raised a brow, then turned from Dagan to Seighen. "I had heard that you were very ill, your highness."

"I am recovering; the gods know I have to. If I were to die today, Bayman would be doomed." He chuckled and the assembled courtiers tittered with laughter. Dagan felt his anger level rising. If he hadn't gained control of his powers, the room would be ablaze by now. "Now, what have you come to tell me?"

"As I told your son, the agreement…"

"Yes, yes, I completely understand and accept the decision of your emperor. Tell Princess Shamara that we wish her well in her marriage. She's had a narrow escape." He chortled with insulting laughter as he glanced at Dagan.

Dagan glared back at his father. "I was about to tell Lord Duo…"

"I know what you were about to tell Lord Duo, but that is out of the question. Your little exhibition in the garden this morning proves you are incapable of winning a physical combat."

"You…you saw it?"

"I arranged the little escapade. Vanig! By the gods, where is that rascal?"

Vanig stepped out. "I am here, your highness."

Seighen chuckled. "Vanig is the captain of the royal dragoons. I asked him to give you a little training and we tested you by hiring those bungling oafs to kill you."

"You hired the assassins?" Dagan was beside himself with fury. "You hired men to kill me?"

"I paid them quite handsomely. I thought you might use your powers, but I will credit you for trying to defend yourself as a man might."

"I am a man!" shouted Dagan, clenching his fist.

Seighen snorted. "You are a freak!"

Dagan would have charged the man on the throne, but Vanig drew his sword. Dagan wasn't stupid enough to challenge him. "I don't care what you order. I intend to go to Calabria to win Shamara back from Avar."

"You go without my blessing." Seighen looked back to Lord Duo. "Give my deepest apologies to Emperor Trey when this pathetic imbecile shows up." He rose. "I fear I have grown tired again. I regret to leave you in charge again, Dagan, but I must. Now where have those lovely ladies gone?"

Dagan stood rigid with indignant anger as the scantily clad women hurried forward to help Seighen from the throne. They giggled as he pawed them indecently, and the people present didn't bother to hide their smiles. Dagan was completely humiliated and hopelessly undermined by his father, but Dagan was powerless to do anything about it. He glanced at Vanig, hating him for his association with the old king. 

Vanig merely smiled that foolish grin of his, then saluted him. "If you care to continue lessons…"

"For what purpose?" snapped Dagan. "So that he can hire even more skilled assassins who will probably succeed?"

"Truly, your highness, I never feared for your life!" Vanig seemed hurt. He reminded Dagan of a faithful old hound dog. 

Lord Duo cleared his throat, and Dagan turned back to him. "I am sorry you had to witness this spectacle," he began.

Duo interrupted. "If you have some place private, we can discuss other matters."

Averting his eyes from the snide looks on the faces of his people, Dagan led Duo out of the receiving room and to his chambers. He was embarrassed to the very core that the Calabrian lord had see what little respect he had from anyone, so he could not bring himself to speak even after the doors to his chamber had shut behind them. Dagan busied himself with washing the blood from his skin and changing his clothing as Master Nazzar offered Lord Duo something to drink. When he was clean, Dagan felt little better, but he could at least face him without the blood of his father's hired assassin clinging to him.

"How is Shamara?" asked Dagan, taking his own chilled drink from Master Nazzar. There was something familiar in the way Nazzar nodded and shuffled away. Where had he seen that before?

"She is well although you may hear that she has some exotic illness that she contracted on Mars Colony which keeps her quarantined on the second moon with her brother. For the time being her excuses have been accepted both by her father and Prince Avar."

Dagan smiled. "She is a clever young woman."

Lord Duo returned his smile. "The truth of the matter is that her father doesn't want her to return just yet. There is turmoil at his court concerning his second daughter, Chaela."

"Shamara told me about it," Dagan told him. "That was her reason for rescuing me."

"Shamara is a confused young woman. Some day she will know what is in her heart, which is exactly what her father wants for her."

"What will you tell her?" Dagan feared Lord Duo's report would be extremely unflattering. He stood and began to pace when the other man did not answer immediately. "This is not the life I expected. I knew my father did not care for me, that my sister despised me, but depths surprise me. My own people do not respect me, but renounce me as a worthless fool, which is exactly what both my father and Ryana have cultivated probably since the moment of my birth. I am not fit to rule this kingdom and certainly not worthy of Princess Shamara."

Lord Duo came to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "There comes a time in every man's life when he has to make a decision that will affect him forever. That decision is usually fraught with pain and hardship, but the rewards in the end will be worth it. Your decision is whether you will slink back into the hills with Master Nazzar, hiding yourself from responsibility or whether you will take the control you were meant to have. If you do not take action now, Dagan, you will find yourself ruling a kingdom that has rotted from its foundations."

Dagan sat down and covered his face with his hands. "I do not know what to do."

Lord Duo also sat. "You begin by finding who would be loyal to you and sweeping the rest from your presence. The process will be difficult and you will be risking your life. Men, and women, do not relinquish power easily. Those who try to remove you should be dealt with ruthlessly. These are the lessons that Emperor Trey would give you for he has vast experience."

"What of my father's interference? I can't just kill him."

"I'm sure you know his weakness. Find a way to exploit it and Seighen will not bother you." The Calabrian lord stood. "I trust you will use every trick you know and every power you possess to take control, Dagan. I will tell Shamara and her father that you intend to challenge Avar and the execution of their oath will not take place until you have had an opportunity to defeat Avar."

After Lord Duo had gone, Dagan paced his room, and when Nazzar began to chant, he snapped at him to be quiet. His chant had been making him drowsy and Dagan needed to think. When he determined his plan of action, he sent a servant for Vanig and Oxana. Vanig arrived first and Dagan demanded an oath of loyalty from him, which he did not hesitate to give. Then he sent the captain of the dragoons out to determine which soldiers would give him loyalty, which would remain steadfast to his father, and which Ryana had seduced into her camp. He seemed pleased with the task, and Dagan could only hope that Vanig was not lying and spying on him for his father.

Next, Oxana entered his room warily, her eyes round with fear, but she relaxed when Dagan sent the frowning Nazzar from the room. Even before he had closed the door, Oxana threw herself at Dagan's feet, hugging his legs and begging him to forgive her. Dagan watched her groveling with amusement for a moment, then drew her up from the floor. Oxana reached out to him, obviously intent on initiating her particular skills, but he seized her hand before she could touch where she could do the most damage.

She had been the only woman he had ever been with. Oxana had made him a man and a fool at the same time. "I did not call you here to give me pleasure."

"I want to," she purred, trying to move closer, but he kept her at arm's length.

"I have a task for you at which I am sure you will excel since you have so much experience." She really was a beautiful woman, so it was a shame that her life had taken the path that it had. Dagan was surprised she had no power to move him anymore. His love for Shamara was like armor.

"I will do whatever you ask," she said softly.

"My father needs diversion. I think you can accomplish that much better than the sluts I saw him with today."

"Your father?" She seemed confused and surprised.

Dagan smiled and reached out to stroke her hair. "I don't want him bothering me, Oxana. I'm quite sure you know how to make him think of nothing but you and what you can do for him."

"He's an old man," she complained with a frown.

"He's an old _king_," Dagan corrected her. "If you do your job well, perhaps he will reward you."

She bit her bottom lip as she considered, then said, "I suppose the promise of a reward from you would be enough for me to waste my time with that shriveled up old man."

Thinking of what he had seen earlier, Dagan remarked, "I think he might surprise you."

Oxana smiled at him. "As you did, Dagan, but I would expect nothing less from your father."

"You have a week to get him out of my affairs, and if you fail, I will see that you spend the rest of your life on your back in the dragoons' quarters."

"Is that meant to be a threat?" she asked with a sly smile. "And how do you know I don't spend my time there now?" She laughed when he could not hide his surprise. "You're a hard man to replace."

"A week," he reminded her before she left. "Whatever you need you shall be provided."

Nazzar returned several minutes after she had gone. His gaze had gone to the bed first, and Dagan was amused to see his astonishment at not finding him dozing off Oxana's visit. 

"I have work to attend to." Dagan thought of the dozen advisors and wondered which of them he would remove first.

"You should rest," said Nazzar before he reached the door.

"You are becoming my nursemaid," commented Dagan. "Maybe _you_ should get some rest."

His old master sighed. "I will be here when you return."

As Lord Duo predicted, Dagan had difficulty wresting power away from both his sister and his father. His father had been easy to deal with. One seductive bat of Oxana's lashes and he was entrapped, and Oxana knew exactly how to distract the old lecher. Those advisors who remained staunchly loyal to his father saw through Dagan's ploy immediately and tried to revolt. Dagan wondered if Seighen had even learned of the attempted palace coup that Vanig and his dragoons successfully quelled with minimum loss of life. In the end, five of the eight advisors were banished, and in their place Dagan put men who would support him, men who realized Dagan's reign was the future, the very near future. 

Ryana put up a token resistance to Dagan's insistence that she conduct her activities more discreetly. Although he had been warned to forbid her open worship of Camridaeus, Dagan didn't see any harm. Inquiries into what really went on revealed that it was as Dagan had suspected: an opportunity for the more revolting of his subjects to get together, pretend to worship a single god above all others, then engage in an orgy in honor of the god.

"It is a sin to worship one god above others," muttered Nazzar one night as Dagan settled into his bed for the first time in many days. He had been so busy the last two weeks that he had caught sleep where ever he could and whenever he could. Strangely enough, he hadn't had any more dreams of Dagmaeus, only some dreams of Shamara, which he kept hoping, were trances. He would be leaving soon for Calabria and had already chosen one of his advisors to act for him in his absence, completely removing Ryana from any form of leadership. She didn't seem to mind, nor did she make any more attempts to seduce him. Finally she understood the uselessness of doing so.

Dagan closed his eyes as he lay on his bed, and he could conjure an image of Shamara sitting by a pond, dangling her toes. He adored her smiles and even the annoyed frowns she often sent his way. Now he forced his vision to smile at him, then move toward him, unwinding the sash around her waist and letting her garment gape open. Just as she tossed the sash around him and pulled him to her, Dagan heard Master Nazzar chanting. Shamara faded from his view, and despite his best efforts to remain with his own vision, he was drawn away.

__

"Visiting again, my son? I feel so honored!" Rahina didn't look up from her sewing as Dagmaeus sat near her. He tried not to be obvious, but his eyes scanned the room and finally rested on Ulfyna. She sat with one of his mother's disciples, and their hands were clasped as she learned the healing skills. "In the last ten years since your father sank his claws into you, I haven't seen you more than a dozen times. Now in two months I have seen you every day! You wouldn't know why that is? Dagmaeus? Are you listening to me?"

He snapped his attention back to his mother. "I am sorry, mother."

She smiled and patted his cheek. "I understand. She's very beautiful and sweet. And she is a very fast learner. At this rate, I fear her powers will exceed my own and I will have nothing more to teach her. She will make you an excellent wife."

Dagmaeus had let his gaze wander to Ulfyna again, but it snapped back to his mother. "I…I never said anything about making her my … my wife."

"No, but if all you were interested in was her body, you would have taken her out of here by now. Strangely enough, I have received just as many visits from Camrin."

He didn't know what to make of Camrin's interest in Ulfyna, but his mother certainly enjoyed informing him of the visits his foster brother made. Could he be wooing Ulfyna? Camrin usually took the women he wanted without expending any effort to charm them and women enjoyed his attentions. Dagmaeus was painfully aware that they were frightened of him and his powers. Ulfyna was the exception. She didn't seem to care.

"I have not seen your eagle," remarked his mother. "I never did approve of taming the bird, but he seems to embody your spirit. It is strange that you no longer carry him around with you as you have since you were a child no higher than my knee."

Dagmaeus had wondered about the absence of his eagle also, but he was more distracted by Ulfyna. Now that his mother brought up his missing pet, he realized he had forgone a search for it to stay back and protect Ulfyna despite the safety she enjoyed under his mother's wing. "I left him to watch over the wolf Ulfyna had been protecting. It was exhausted and weakened by the hunt."

Rahina nodded. "A wise decision, my son. Unfortunately, I fear something has befallen your eagle. Perhaps you should go out to find it. You realize that it is lacking in survival skills, having been spoiled and petted by you almost its entire life."

Dagmaeus nodded. "I shall go right away." He started to get up, but she put her hand on his arm and he stayed put as Ulfyna left her teacher and came to sit near Rahina also.

The older woman stroked her golden hair, then sighed. "It is a beautiful day, Dagmaeus. Why don't you take Ulfyna out to see the flowers? You can deal with the other problem later."

The eagle was forgotten as he looked into Ulfyna's blue eyes. "Yes, mother." He held out his hand, hoping it wouldn't tremble, and Ulfyna's smile as she slipped her hand into his made his stomach drop to his knees. He caught a sly smile from his mother and realized she knew exactly how he felt. 

Neither spoke until they were deep into the well-kept garden. The two suns were shining and unobstructed by clouds, and a soft breeze tempered the heat. As they walked, Ulfyna looked at the flowers as if she had never seen them although Dagmaeus was certain that one of her responsibilities was to help with the care of them. The breeze ruffled her silky golden hair and he wished he could touch it but he dared not. Ulfyna might become frightened, especially if she felt the heat of his touch, which he could not control. Most women were afraid he would lose control of his powers, so he avoided touching them. Camrin had been jealous when his grandfather laid his hands on him and transferred the powers into him, but Dagmaeus considered them a curse.

Ulfyna's soft sigh drew his attention, and Dagmaeus looked at her, finding her looking at him. "You seem very far away, Dagmar."

"That is not really my name," he said bitterly. "Perhaps you should call me Dagmaeus as everyone else does."

"I do not know Dagmaeus. I only know Dagmar, whose kindness has brought me to a place where I have experienced the greatest joys of my life." She smiled up at him. "I never knew true happiness before I met you."

He smiled. "My mother has a lot to do with that."

Ulfyna took a step closer to him. "I am not talking about her." Dagmaeus stiffened when she reached up to lay her palm on his cheek. She closed her eyes in concentration, and almost instantly her feelings poured into him from her touch.

Shaking off her hand, he stepped back. "You should not have feelings like that for me!"

"Why not?" She took a step after him.

He stepped back again. "You don't understand. You are too young and innocent…"

She followed him again. "I know what I want, Dagmar."

He backed into a tree, and when she would have slipped her arms around him, he ducked and stumbled around to the other side of the tree. Ulfyna giggled as she poked her head around, and Dagmar stumbled back, falling to the ground on his backside. Ulfyna came to stand over him, laughing, and Dagmaeus realized how ridiculous he must look to her or to anyone else who might be watching, as he was sure his mother must be.

"You are not frightened of me, are you, Dagmar?" Ulfyna reached out a hand to him. Dagmaeus was afraid to take it. Her feelings had been intense and not all that proper, and he did not want to lose control of his own. Dagmaeus did not want to see fear in her eyes.

"Brother, what are you doing on the ground?" Camrin seemed to come from no where. "Is there a new variety of flower under yonder bush?"

The smile faded from Ulfyna's lips. Dagmaeus did not need to touch the hand she held out to him and which he now took to know she was still very frightened of Camrin. The idea that any woman could be afraid of his handsome foster brother was almost absurd, but Ulfyna's fear was very real. She drew very close to Dagmaeus who put his arm around her as Camrin approached.

"I feel cold inside," she whispered to Dagmaeus.

He could only make her warm in his embrace.

"I came to take Ulfyna for a walk, but I see you have already beaten me to it." Camrin's smile didn't seem all that friendly.

"My mother suggested it," Dagmaeus told him.

"Your father is looking for you. I will escort Ulfyna back to our mother's rooms." Camrin's sly smile suggested he would take advantage of his self-appointed duty.

Ulfyna snuggled even closer to Dagmaeus, like a chick trying to hide under the wing of its mother. "My mother wished to discuss something further with me," lied Dagmaeus. "I will take Ulfyna back, speak to my mother, then go to my father. You may inform my father the reason for my delay."

Camrin's lips twisted in a scornful smile. "I would be more than happy to run your errands." With one last baleful glance at Ulfyna, he turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction.

Dagmaeus had no time to consider Camrin's behavior because Ulfyna was using his protection as an excuse to make free with her hands. He put his hands on her shoulders and set her back although she moaned in disappointment. "I must return you to my mother's care."

"I was hoping we could stay out here a little longer." She smiled up at him, but her beguiling smile couldn't dissuade him from duty.

"My father is expecting me." He put his hand on her back and propelled her toward the entrance into his mother's apartments. "You should stay inside."

"He won't hurt me," she told Dagmaeus to his surprise. "He has visited me before."

"No doubt in the presence of my mother he was on his best behavior. I wouldn't count on that lasting much longer." He frowned at her. "Do as I say, Ulfyna, and stay away from Camrin."

She stood on the tips of her toes to look him in the eye. "I will do as you say." Her eyes were locked to his for a moment and Dagmaeus thought his knees would give out. Something seemed to pass between them, making her shiver and him tremble before it was gone. Then Ulfyna sank back on her heels, turned, and hurried into the palace.

Dagmaeus stared at the spot where she had been for several moments trying to figure out what had happened between them, but he could not understand it so he stopped trying. He was about to go in search of his father when he noticed Camrin watching him from a few feet away, leaning against a tree, his arms folded across his chest.

"Don't bother looking for him," Camrin said. "Iator wasn't looking for you. I lied."

Dagmaeus raised a brow. "Perhaps you would care to explain why."

Camrin shrugged. "I suppose I was jealous."

"Jealous?" Dagmaeus frowned. "What reason do you have to be jealous? Do you want Ulfyna? If I thought you would treat her kindly, I would gladly step aside for you." He wouldn't want to, but he would. The thought of seeing Camrin with Ulfyna almost made him physically sick.

"I don't want the wolf-girl. I want my friend back. I want the brother who would hunt with me. I want the confidante that would listen to me."

"I am right here, Camrin." Dagmaeus didn't realize Ulfyna had distracted him so much.

Camrin was pouting. "You are standing before me but your thoughts are with her. I knew the moment I saw her that she would come between us. We should have left her in the forest."

"You are still my dear brother and friend." Dagmaeus held out his hand to Camrin.

"You look the same, but you have become someone else." Turning on his heel, Camrin walked stiffly away.

Dagmaeus felt as if a part of him had been cut away. Then he heard Ulfyna's voice raised in song, and he couldn't think of anything but her.

"You are very far away, your highness."

Dagan blinked and turned away from the window where he was watching servants loading the royal barge for his trip to Calabria. The kingdom was in order and would be ruled by his handpicked advisor who would consult with Seighen who in turn would be persuaded by Oxana to do just as the advisor suggested. Dagan could count on his policies to be followed in his absence. If they weren't, he knew of one advisor's villa that would be scorched to the ground. The man was very well aware of the penalty of his failure to control Bayman in Dagan's name.

"I was telling you that your sister, accompanied by several of her adherents, suddenly left for space last night."

Dagan looked at Vanig. "Do you fear treachery?"

"If she had taken warbirds, yes."

"She has absolutely no access to weaponry." Dagan had made sure to clip her claws. All of her cult members had been removed from their posts in the government and military, not because they chose to worship Camridaeus, but because they would do whatever high priestess Ryana wanted. They could not be trusted. Ryana made only a token protest, which made Dagan wonder what nefarious plan she had devised to remove him. She was like a snake waiting under a bush, ready to strike. He still remembered her offer to remove Shamara from his life. Ryana's need for vengeance was simmering, waiting for the day he would bring Shamara to Bayman. At least he would be prepared for her treachery.

"She took her craft near the portal to the human system. Yesterday while you were sleeping, a large amount of debris from some explosion on the other side came through."

"Are you suggesting that my sister has become a scavenger?" Dagan chuckled. "I cannot imagine what she is looking for, but leave orders for her actions to be closely monitored."

"I can stay here, if you wish," suggested Vanig.

"I want you with me. I must put on a good show, Vanig, and bringing along dragoons will give some credence to my worthiness to claim Princess Shamara." 

"I wish you would have allowed me to train you further." Vanig sighed. "I fear you are underestimating Prince Avar's abilities."

"Let's just say I trust the gods." Dagan smiled and looked out at the preparations again. He wasn't about to tell Vanig the real reason for his confidence. 

Shamara had everything planned.

He didn't need to go through the pain and agony of training.


	29. The dutiful daughter

**** __

Calabria, Royal Palace

"What do you mean that you have changed your mind?" Shamara nearly shrieked at her sister.

Chaela sniffed. "You heard me. I have decided that I do not want Avar."

Shamara stared at her incredulously. How could her sister do such a thing? "How does Avar feel about your sudden change of heart?"

Chaela's cheeks became pink, and then she said angrily, "I don't care what he thinks! I was blind where he is concerned! Now I have opened my eyes and found that there are much more interesting men in the galaxy."

Shamara glared at her sister whose face had become a deep red. "I suppose you haven't wasted any time sampling them!"

"I haven't made any promises! I can have any man I choose! Father has already told me so."

Shamara felt betrayed, by her sister and by her father. Why was her sister allowed to choose her own mate when Shamara's had been determined for her? And now that she had decided that perhaps her father's judgment in making an agreement with Bayman was in her best interest, she was being forced to marry Avar of Teralon.

"So tell me, sister, what is Prince Dagan like? Is he handsome? Perhaps I will choose him for my mate." Chaela was smirking. "We can marry on the same day: me to Dagan and you to Avar."

If she didn't leave her sister's presence, Shamara thought she might do her some harm, so she walked out of Chaela's room and headed straight to her father's office. Somehow she would straighten out this mess without telling her father about Chaela's indiscretion. Although she was furious, she didn't want to get Chaela into deeper trouble. It didn't seem as though she realized she was carrying Avar's child yet. Shamara had to stop her from marrying another man. There would be dire consequences not only for Chaela, but also for her father and Calabria if Chaela married a man other than Avar. Shamara wasn't about to let her sister marry Dagan of Bayman!

When Shamara came into the room outside her father's office, she was dismayed to see many men and women waiting to have a few moments of the emperor's time. Although she knew he probably didn't want to be disturbed at this time, she hadn't expected guards to detain her at the door! Shamara had always had quick access to her father, but now two beefy men stood in her way.

"He is very busy," one of them explained apologetically.

Shamara started to pace in the outer chamber, ignoring the curious glances from the others waiting to see the emperor. She hadn't a chance to speak to Avar yet. Chaela gave no excuse for her sudden disinterest in her lover, but if he no longer wanted Chaela so desperately, that might mean he would demand that Shamara honor the oath she had made to marry him. She wrung her hands as she paced. Just thinking of Chaela's confident smirks infuriated Shamara. How could her father favor that brat over her? Chaela had not once been an obedient daughter! She had been scolded and punished so often that her parents had been exasperated while Shamara had always done as expected. Now she had to hold back her tears as she considered their unfairness. Chaela was going to get exactly as she wanted while Shamara would do her duty as always.

The door opened and one of her father's advisors called a name and barely glanced at Shamara. A man who had been waiting in the outer chamber moved past Shamara into the office. Shamara hurried to the door before the advisor shut it.

"Will you tell my father that I need to speak to him immediately."

"He is very busy," snapped the older man. "I suggest you wait until this evening when he has finished with his duties."

The door shut in her face. Shamara turned around now to see the annoyance and resentment of the others waiting. The advisor was right, and she suddenly felt very selfish and foolish for nearly demanding that her father set aside his work to see her. As emperor of Calabria, her father had many duties and he took them very seriously. She could not expect to ask people with serious need of his help to wait until he solved her petty problem.

There wasn't really a problem, was there? Her only objection to marrying Avar was that he had been with her sister and she found the prospect of being intimate with him rather repulsive for that very reason. But Avar did have much to recommend him. He was handsome, charming, and his physical strength and skill was lauded through the galaxy. Such a man would be a great king, and his children would also be strong. Isn't that what a Calabrian woman wanted of a man? On the other hand, Dagan was also handsome though she had no evidence that he could be charming. In fact, he had, on several occasions, insulted her. His physical strength was lacking - Shamara thought she could probably beat him in hand to hand combat - and he possessed little or no skill with a weapon. Yet he was Guerani. That must be why she favored his suit. They were the same, and as she remembered how she felt when their hands had been joined, she knew that they were destined to be together.

So she went in search of her mother to talk about her dilemma, but she found her having hassles with her younger siblings. Shamara doubted she had been as rebellious when she was that young although she did recall Amyr's backside being swatted on many occasions as well as Chaela's. Arora was scolding two of her younger brothers who had been fighting while another of her sisters was whining about a missing toy. The baby was slinging food from which Shamara ducked. Another woman in her mother's position would have hired an army of nannies to watch her children, but Arora didn't want to give up any of her time with them. Shamara remembered her mother's regret and tears each time her children had gone to the moon to stay with Duo when a new infant came into the house and she needed to devote time to it. Shamara knew that she would feel the same about her own children.

Knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with her mother, Shamara retreated to the garden to think and was annoyed to stumble across Avar. From what Shamara could see, he attempting to seduce one of the serving girls who, upon seeing Shamara, scurried away.

Clearly annoyed at the interruption, Avar turned to look at her and he pasted a false smile on his face. "Ah, Shamara! I see you have recovered from your mysterious illness."

"And I see that you are not suffering any despair over the ending of your relationship with my sister." Shamara folded her arms over her chest and glared at him.

He frowned at her. "I wasn't really serious about her." 

"Do you think I will marry you?" demanded Shamara. "How can you suddenly forget how you felt for her?"

Avar came to stand before her and she was made very uncomfortable by his nearness. "I suppose I once thought she might be the one I loved, but soon after you left, the novelty wore off and I realized I don't want to be with her for the rest of my life." He reached out to touch her hair and run the backs of his fingers over her cheek.

"You are lying!" Shamara slapped his hand away, sensing in his touch that his reasons went much deeper. If she could touch him, she would be able to read his true intent. Avar seemed to realize it too, because he stepped out of her reach. "I am not going to marry you!"

"You have no choice!" snapped Avar. "You vowed before witnesses that you would take me as your husband and I expect you to honor that vow. I suggest you reconcile yourself to that fact." He started to walk away, and then he paused and turned back to her. "As for Dagan, if he is foolish enough to challenge me, I will have no choice but to defend my right to have you as my wife."

Shamara gasped. "You…you would kill him?"

"I'm not about to let him make a fool of me by defeating me in a mock duel then taking the prize of the galaxy from me. I have come to my senses." Without waiting for her response, he walked away.

She stared after him not knowing what to say. Shamara had returned to Calabria from the second moon only when she had learned that Dagan was on his way. Dagan would be unprepared for a real fight against Avar, and she must warn him. 

"Should I kill him?"

She heard the voice above her, and she looked up to see Taeron perched within the branches of the tree, a half-eaten fruit in his hand. "Were you spying on me?"

"I am your imperial guard. Isn't that my duty?" He swung down from the tree to land before her. "You didn't answer my question."

Shamara sighed. "That would be dishonorable, Taeron."

He shrugged. "Why should we deal honorably with Avar?"

"How would it reflect on Dagan to have you disposing of his rival?" She frowned at Taeron. "What brings you out here anyway? I thought you were spending all your time with Amyr and his unending succession of adoring females."

"He is being punished by your father, for his less than honorable actions toward the daughter of Lord Deylann, a powerful chieftain on the second moon and staunch zenoite."

"Since when has my father cared about Amyr's foolish behavior with women?" Shamara thought all men were annoying with their never-ending pursuit of women. The men of her own family were no different. Her father couldn't keep his hands off her mother, her uncle was a legend amongst the women of the Wastelands, the crowned prince wasted all his time and energy on them, and Staefyn, who was barely old enough to know what to do with them, spent every spare moment of his time pursuing them in the Guerani hillsides. Dr. Nelson had given Shamara a thorough description of the activity they engaged in, but Shamara could not imagine why it so enthralled the men or why the women should want to be willing participants.

"Princess, I heard what Avar said. Prince Dagan will arrive tomorrow and I would guess he will waste no time in challenging the prince from Teralon." Taeron folded his arms across his chest. "I would also guess he will be completely unprepared for an honest match with Avar."

Shamara bit her bottom lip nervously. "Is Avar really that good?"

Taeron shrugged. "I have seen his weaknesses in the training room, but I doubt telling them to Dagan would help him."

"You didn't answer my question," she pointed out. "Just how good is he?"

"He defeated Amyr in practice three days ago."

"That doesn't mean anything!" But Shamara knew that it did. Beside Taeron and his father, Amyr was probably the most skilled fighter on Calabria. Despite all his faults, Amyr had trained hard with Taeron, and if he had been defeated…

"You aren't going to cry, are you?" asked Taeron anxiously.

"No!" Yet her vision was suspiciously blurred.

Taeron put his arms around her and forced her head to his shoulder. "Go ahead and cry, princess. I have observed that females need to do such things to make them feel better."

Shamara had no reason to cry, and yet she burst into tears, hiding her face in Taeron's shoulder. Avar couldn't kill Dagan! They could not have survived all that they had on Mars Colony only to be brought to this!

When her tears had exhausted, Taeron handed her a handkerchief, and as she wiped her face, he said, "Do you think there is no hope for a reconciliation between Chaela and Avar?"

"I don't know. She seemed very upset, and so was Avar. They must have had a fight."

"Could you not touch either to ascertain the reason for their sudden disinterest?"

Shamara shook her head. "They don't want me to know what happened."

"I guess I will have to find out on my own." Taeron chucked her under the chin. "Do not worry, Shamara. We will sort out this mess. We didn't save Dagan just so Avar could cut him into little pieces."

The image he left her with was not calming. By the time evening rolled around, Shamara had worked herself into a nervous frenzy. It took almost all her willpower not to either throw herself at her father's feet and beg him to do something or to beat Chaela senseless. She didn't know whom to blame more for this predicament.

When the guards finally opened the doors to the emperor's private apartments, Shamara forced herself not to knock down her mother to get to her father first. Keeping him from his woman was not going to earn her any favors from him. Fortunately, she was distracted by Taeron's entrance behind him at Amyr's side. Taeron quickly left him and went to Shamara whose arm he grabbed and pulled aside as Trey greeted the younger children nipping at his heels like puppies desperate for attention.

"What have you discovered?" she asked with a surreptitious glance at Chaela who was with her two other younger sisters probably talking about men.

"I have learned through discussion with one of the serving girls who is the sister of a woman who is friends with…"

"Just get to the point!" she snapped.

Taeron shrugged. "I thought you should know that the sources are very reliable."

"Why am I not surprised you got this information from a female? Dare I ask how you come to know so many women?"

"Do you want the news or not?" Taeron was irritated and Shamara felt guilty taking out her frustration on him. When she nodded, he continued. "Seems Naoll of Varoonya was flirting with Chaela, and Avar caught them in the garden together."

"The garden seems to be my sister's favorite spot for a rendezvous," remarked Shamara.

"There are enough secluded spots in the garden that one could get away with anything," remarked a voice at her side.

She turned to look at Amyr. "You would know. I'm sure you have a map of the choicest spots."

Amyr grinned. "Would you like a copy?"

Ignoring her younger brother, she turned back to Taeron. "Is that it?"

"No. When Avar confronted her, they had an argument. She claimed nothing was going on with Naoll and he refused to believe her. The next day she caught him groping one of the serving girls."

"They deserve each other," grumbled Shamara, glaring across the room at her sister.

"That was ten days ago. They haven't spoken since."

"Just what is going on?" asked Amyr.

"None of your business. What happened to you? Taeron told me that father is actually annoyed by your behavior!" Shamara kept herself from laughing at his problems.

"I don't need a lecture from you. Father has already told me that I must begin to act responsibly, that I am his heir, that my behavior reflects upon him and so on and so on and so on."

Shamara frowned at him. "I hope you were listening to his speech. Someday you are going to seduce the wrong woman, if you haven't already."

"I suppose you have never had one of those lectures from him. Perfect Shamara! Too bad the rest of us are mere mortals." Amyr walked away.

"Don't listen to him," said Taeron. "He is still upset about his father's reproach which was done rather publicly with Lord Deylann in attendance."

Shamara looked across the room to Trey. Amazing as it seemed, he was standing alone as everyone was getting settled at the table. Taking a deep breath, she started across the room, then paused when the door opened and the guard announced the arrival of Prince Avar.

"What is he doing here?!" She hadn't realized she said it aloud with more than just a little disgust until her father answered the question as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"I thought we should welcome him into the family since he will soon become a part of it." He gave her a quick squeeze. "Why don't you greet him properly."

Shamara felt herself shoved forward and she glanced over her shoulder to see Trey smiling with encouragement. Dreading every step that took her to him, she crossed to Avar who seemed more interested in Chaela's movements. "Greetings, my lord, and welcome to our home."

He looked down at her, and she immediately read the disappointment in his eyes. Avar would rather she were Chaela. "Your father invited me."

"It is your right to be here." She held out her hand to him, but he didn't take it, so she dropped it at her side. What kind of marriage could they have if he was afraid to touch her?

Avar moved past her to greet her parents. Chaela kept looking at him with more than just sisterly interest. Her parents could not possibly be blind to what was between them!

"Will you be joining us?" Trey asked Shamara, and she realized that all but her had gone to the table and were already seated.

She clasped her hands and took a breath. "Actually, father, I was hoping we could have a word in private before we eat."

He raised a brow. "I'm sure it can wait. I am quite hungry. Come and take your place beside Avar."

Avar glanced at her with a frown but said nothing. He nodded to the empty place beside him.

She ignored him. "Father, it is imperative that I speak to you. I didn't get a chance today, and…"

"Your father will speak to you later." Arora was warning Shamara with her eyes.

Shamara was getting quite tired of doing as expected and then having her concerns brushed aside. "Please! Father?"

Trey took his eyes from the food on the table and she felt an inch tall when his gaze landed on her. "I am not in the habit of repeating myself."

"You repeat yourself plenty with Chaela and Amyr!" The words slipped out before Shamara could stop herself. She immediately put her hands over her mouth as all eyes turned to her. The younger children were shocked while Chaela and Amyr had difficulty hiding their glee that the perfect first princess was now in deep trouble. She saw that her mother was disappointed, and her father…

"I am going to pretend I did not hear that!" He was furious. "Now sit down and eat this meal with us and I will consider speaking to you once it is finished."

She took a step toward the table, then stopped. "I won't! You have purposely avoided me since I returned, but I insist that you speak to me now. It is very important!"

He slammed his hand on the table so that the dishes rattled. The smaller children whimpered and the baby began to cry. Shamara even flinched at the anger she saw in his eyes. "I do not recall giving you permission to go with Duo in the first place! In fact, if my memory serves, we discussed your foolish venture and I told you to forget it. Yet you imposed yourself on Duo and could have gotten yourself killed. I have not even had a chance to speak to him because your brother has messed up the second moon so badly with his mismanagement that Duo has been too busy sorting it out."

"Do not blame Duo!" cried Shamara. "I gave him little choice."

"I had no intention of blaming him! I want to apologize for your behavior, not to mention that of my bungling son." Trey took a moment to fix a censuring stare on Amyr who hung his head. "Now, do not ruin what is supposed to be the best moments of my day with my family. Your selfish needs can wait. You shame yourself in the eyes of the man who would be your husband." He turned his attention back to the table. Avar didn't even bother looking at her. "Pass me the meat before I take a bite out of your mother!"

The younger children giggled nervously, and the baby cried louder as Amyr quickly passed the meat platter to Chaela. Chaela was about to pass it further, but Shamara hurried forward and grabbed it from her hands to prevent it from reaching the emperor of Calabria.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Trey.

"I want to speak to you!"

"Not now," he said through gritted teeth. Everyone else was completely silent.

Shamara had already stepped over the line, so she reasoned she had nothing to lose. She took the platter and slammed it on the floor. "There! Since supper won't be ready for several minutes, maybe you could spare them for me!"

"Guards!" bellowed Trey, and the men outside the door hurried in with their swords drawn, looking first at Avar who was the only outsider. "Escort Princess Shamara to her room and see that she doesn't leave it until I find the time to speak to her." He looked at Shamara. "You can forget about eating tonight."

"I wasn't hungry!" she retorted. She turned on her heel and marched to the door.

"I was starving," hissed Taeron in her ear.

"You don't have to come with me," she whispered as they left the room.

"Yes, I do."

Shamara paced her room for hours until the two moons were high in the sky and the second sun was long gone. Taeron was lying on her bed snoring before she finally realized that her father was so furious he was not going to speak to her at all. Ignoring her snoozing imperial guard, she went to the door and opened it, finding the guards still at their posts.

She smiled at the kinder looking of the two. "I am ready to apologize to my father."

"I am sorry, princess, but his instructions were that you must remain in your room until he personally comes to release you."

Shamara stared at him unblinking. That gaze usually yielded results. "I am sure you must be mistaken."

"There was no misunderstanding his orders," spoke up the gruff guard to her left. "His Excellency was very angry. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, princess."

The following morning, after a near sleepless night, Shamara was awakened by a knock at the door. She had slept beside Taeron and saw that he was still sound asleep. Shamara shoved him awake. "Go to the door."

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Seeing Shamara beside him, he grunted in annoyance then swung his legs over the bed. "I had plans last night, princess."

The knock at the door sounded again, but this time the door opened and a servant entered carrying a tray. Shamara had hoped her father had come to speak to her, but following the woman was Avar. When he saw Taeron rising from the bed where she was still reclining, Avar reached for his sword, then seemed to think better of it. His hand dropped to his side.

"I have come to share your breakfast with you. Perhaps I am interrupting."

The woman set the tray on the table then hurried out.

Shamara looked from Avar to Taeron. If Avar were jealous of Taeron, he might challenge him and Shamara was completely confident in Taeron's skill. Taeron was confident in his own ability to defeat Avar as well. But she caught Taeron looking at her with warning disapproval and she sighed knowing she could not capriciously put Taeron in any danger. Such a ploy would dishonor them both.

"If you will excuse me, princess, I will leave your safety for the moment in the hands of your betrothed."

Her eyes cursed Taeron before he walked out leaving them alone. She looked at Avar. "There is nothing going on between Taeron and myself. It is common practice for an imperial guard to sleep in the room with the person they are protecting."

"Don't think the fact that your mother was your father's imperial guard has escaped my notice." As Avar crossed the room to sit at the table, Shamara swallowed her angry retort. "Come and share the meal with me. You must be hungry."

She didn't want to admit it, but she was, so she sat at the small writing table where the servant had left the tray. The setting was intimate, but Avar didn't say anything as he ate. She noted to herself that he seemed to enjoy traditional Calabrian food. Dagan would be horrified to see what they were served for breakfast. So she had yet another reason to logically prefer Avar to Dagan.

Shamara looked away and stared out the window of her room, which was the highest in the western tower of the palace. When she had been given her own room her father joked that it was the safest place to keep her, high above the ground and any over-enthusiastic suitors. Those suitors hadn't materialized. He had quickly betrothed her to Dagan of Bayman, and now that she had finally accepted that he would be her mate for the rest of her life and was looking forward to it, she found herself facing life with Avar of Teralon.

Sighing, she glanced back at Avar and caught him staring down at his food. He seemed as miserable as she felt. "I don't suppose you wish to discuss what happened with my sister."

He pushed himself away from the table. "In three day's time we will be married. I hope you have the sense to prepare yourself. If you have some special affection for that idiot from Bayman…"

Shamara shot to her feet. "I have no such special affection! I do not want to see him suffer."

Avar glared at her. "I think you are lying! Whether you do or not does matter to me! You will be my wife, and I will have rid Bayman of the abomination that is next in line to their throne. They will be better off with Ryana as their ruler."

Shamara followed him to the door. "How can you say such things!? Do you consider the same of me for my powers?"

He raised a brow and in the silence that followed, she realized that he did. "My personal feelings for you do not matter. I need only to do my duty, just as you do. When we have done that, I expect we will live our own lives on Teralon. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to prepare myself for Dagan's challenge."

She caught his arm before he reached the door. "Please, Avar, I beg you not to kill him!"

Avar shook her off. "Why should I listen to you and why should I let him live? If I do, I have little doubt that as the disobedient, willful female that you are, you will run away to be with him."

Shamara dropped to her knees and clasped her hands. "I will swear to you, Avar, that I would never do such a thing if you would only let him live."

He made a sound of disgust and after he had walked out, Shamara tried to control her tears and failed. She buried her face in her hands and cried. She was still sobbing when Taeron returned, and she knew that he was exasperated to see her in such a condition. "Princess, this is becoming a habit!" He helped her to her feet and back to the bed. "I think you need some rest. Prince Dagan has landed at the port in the Wastelands. He should reach the palace too late to issue a challenge to Avar tonight."

"You must go to him and warn him not to do it!" cried Shamara frantically. "Avar has every intention of killing him!"

"Avar must kill him," stated Taeron. "Dagan's claim is just, Shamara, and in order for Avar to have you, he must dispose of him. The gods must decide who they favor."

"This is primitive! I must speak to my father!" She tried to get up, but Taeron pushed her back down.

"The guards will not let you leave and your father is busy welcoming guests for your wedding to Avar as well as trying to find a solution to the riots the followers of Camridaeus have spawned."

Shamara sighed, then frowned as she looked at Taeron. "What riots?"

"You certainly know that the Camridaens committed heinous crimes on the second moon while my father was at Mars Colony."

"I thought they were isolated incidents." For some reason the mention of the Camridaens disturbed Shamara. While Duo was gone, they had burned villages to the ground, killed men, women and children all in the name of their god.

"Camridaeus does not have many followers, but they are fanatical. They are convinced that he is about to be reincarnated and will return to Calabria any day now. For some reason, my father's trip to Mars Colony made them take up arms on the second moon. Many of the sect members have made their homes on the second moon and have lived peacefully up until the time when we were actually making our return trip."

"What do you suppose has caused their unrest?" 

"Their prophecies, no doubt." Taeron patted her back. "Get some rest, Shamara. I will do what I can."

She thought she wouldn't be able to rest, but she did fall asleep and when she awoke, she saw that the last sun had already set and there was a tray of food on the table. Shamara left the bed and went to eat some supper. She was just finishing by the time Taeron returned. By the glum expression on his face, she guessed he hadn't found any good news for her.

"Your father is still rather angry at you, Shamara. I heard that he would not see you until after this mess with Dagan has resolved itself. He is not even going to greet Dagan when he arrives, having already received word that Seighen does not give his approval for Dagan's challenge."

"So is Dagan going to be sleeping in the stables?" demanded Shamara angrily. "He is still a prince, and to be treated so shabbily is dishonorable, especially since a few months ago he was good enough to be my husband."

"The emperor delegated his greeting to Chaela."

"To Chaela!!" For some reason Shamara couldn't define her blood ran hot and cold at the same time and she found her vision blurry. "My…my sister is greeting him?!"

Taeron took a step back from her and Shamara realized she must have been looking frightful. She breathed in several calming breaths before she was able to relax. "Avar reacted the same way," remarked her imperial guard.

She glared at him. "Are you implying that I am jealous? Ha! I have no reason to be jealous! He means absolutely nothing to me. Now get back down there to keep an eye on Chaela!"

Taeron threw up his hands as he walked to the door. "I thought I was your imperial guard! When did all this spying become part of my duties?"

After he had gone, Shamara paced her room anxiously and went to her window several times to see if she could locate Dagan's party approaching, but he would probably be coming from the Wastelands from a direction facing away form her window. She couldn't help but imagine Chaela using that sickening false sweet smile on Dagan, batting her long lashes at him. Even worse was the fact that Chaela was well experienced in what a man might expect of a woman. She knew just how to play up to Dagan, and Shamara knew Dagan could be a fool where women were concerned. His obsession with his white-haired whore was proof of that! Suddenly Shamara wondered if the woman traveled with him. How had she come to be on Mars Colony unless Dagan had brought her with him?

It was hours before Taeron returned, and she pounced on him immediately. "Did he bring his whore with him?"

Taeron was taken aback and she realized she had almost shrieked. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about that white-haired slut!"

Taeron shook his head. "If you are asking who attends Prince Dagan, then I will tell you that the old master is with him. In addition, several dragoons, the captain of which seems very friendly, escort him. I was not allowed near them, so I am sorry, princess, I could not warn Dagan. If there was anyone else in the party from Bayman I did not see him or her."

"Did my sister try to seduce him?"

"In front of the court? Princess, what are you thinking? Chaela would not be so dishonorable."

Shamara wouldn't put it past her. "Did she flirt with him? How did he react?"

"Why should you care?" Taeron was grinning.

She wanted to slap him. "You think you know how I feel?"

He shrugged. "I do have some news. He's not staying in the stables. In fact, he is staying in this very tower on the second floor."

Four floors beneath her very feet! "I must go to him and warn him."

"The guards aren't going to budge. Your father doesn't want you interfering."

"Ridiculous!" Shamara began to hunt through her room for something that could help her reach Dagan. Finally she settled on knotting all her clothing together and climbing down. Taeron was completely against it and threatened to go to her father if she actually did something so foolhardy as climb down the side of the tower.

"You will fall to your death," he predicted.

"Since you are supposed to be preventing my death, I suggest you get over here and make sure the knots I have made will support us."

"What do you mean "us"? I don't remember saying I would be a party to this absurd scheme." But Taeron picked up what she had already done and tightened it. "I do not wish to lose my head over this."

"My father hasn't chopped anyone's head off since the last rebellion."

"I believe this is a rebellion of some sort."

Shamara snorted. "He won't cut off your head. You are Lord Duo's heir. I doubt your father would forgive him."

"My father has another son," commented Taeron as he worked.

Shamara glanced at him. "You aren't worried about Stryfe usurping your place are you?"

Taeron didn't look up. "I know that he has strong feelings for his other son's mother. How could he not favor him over me?"

"I know how he feels, Taeron. It is true that he love's Stryfe's mother, but he doesn't know Stryfe! He has known you your whole life, and even though he didn't acknowledge you, now that he knows the truth, he is eager to make up for the lost time between you."

"I must seem very selfish to distrust my own brother."

Shamara raised a brow. "Do I trust my sister? She's probably slithering around in Dagan's bed this very moment. By the gods, if I find her with him…"

"I pray to the gods that you do not. I am sure to lose my head if you kill your sister."

"Stop whining about your head!" Shamara threw out the rope she had made and saw that it fell short. "We need more. Go get your own clothing."

"Princess, what are the guards going to think if I suddenly get a pile of clothing to bring in here?" Taeron folded his arms. "I'm not going to do it!"

"I think you will."

Taeron marched to the door. "I surely hope that Amyr won't be as demanding as you."

Shamara waited impatiently for him to return. By the time he had, she had connected the bedding to her rope, but it was still very short of its mark."

Taeron dumped a pile of clothing on the floor. Shamara picked up a garment. "This isn't yours! This is women's clothing!"

"I'm not letting you use my clothing to make this instrument of death! I asked one of the girls I know for them. Besides, the guards didn't even bat an eye when I told them you were packing for your trip to Teralon and needed more clothing."

Shamara looked at him skeptically. "And just what did you tell your female friend as an excuse for taking her clothing? I'm sure she's not accustomed to men asking her for all her clothing, and if she is, I wonder about what kind of place my father is running."

Taeron chuckled. "I told her I would compensate her later if she wouldn't ask questions."

"You are as bad as my brother! Now get over here and get to work."

By the time they finished, Shamara's hands were already aching, but the rope seemed to be long enough even after Taeron tied the end to the anchored bed.

They stood at the window for a moment staring down at the rope Shamara had tossed into the darkness below. She looked up to see that clouds obscured the moons. Shamara considered it a sign from the gods that she was doing the right thing.

"You go first," she ordered Taeron.

Grumbling, he swung over the edge and began to climb down. Shamara followed him. The stone wall was rough against her, but she ignored it as she followed Taeron. He paused by a window, then whispered up, "Princess, do not look in this window. It is the Prince of Varoonya's room and you might see more of him than you would want."

"Thanks for the warning." But when she reached the room, she peeked in and saw nothing but darkness. "I don't see him!"

Taeron snorted with laughter. "I knew you would look!"

Shamara kicked his head with her foot. "Get going you oaf!"

He continued to snicker on and off until Shamara had almost lost all patience with him. Finally, they reached the balcony, and when Taeron jumped the last few feet, Shamara heard a scuffle and knew that he had been attacked. She dangled above, unable to see anything in the dark.

After a moment, all sound ceased. Shamara remained where she was until Taeron called up, "Jump, princess."

She jumped, expecting Taeron to catch her, but she landed on a body and she stumbled and fell flat on her face on the stone floor. "Why didn't you catch me?" she snapped at Taeron.

"I couldn't see you in the dark! I'm not a god!"

"I rather thought you were." The voice came from the open door leading to the balcony. Shamara recognized it immediately

"Dagan!" She hurried to him. Shamara wasn't sure how she should greet him, but Dagan didn't seem to have any doubts. He quickly drew her into his arms and she was blessed with his kiss. She slipped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes, as the heavens seemed to open up and shine light down upon them.

"Damn! There go the clouds! Princess, if the guards see the rope, I am going to lose my head!"

I've already lost mine, she thought as Dagan stepped back. He knelt beside the body on the floor. "You didn't kill Vanig, did you, Taeron?"

"I don't think so. He is a very diligent guard, my lord. You should be proud!"

Shamara could see Dagan frown. "I might be a bit prouder if you were the one at my feet. But I guess I will forgive Vanig considering he was attacked by a demi-god."

"I have to speak to you. Let's go inside. Taeron, stay out here and keep watch." Shamara took Dagan's arm and pulled him to the door.

"Princess, my duty…"

"Shut up! Now do as I say!"

When they were inside, Dagan commented, "You were very rude to Taeron."

"Taeron can be an annoying pain in the backside! Besides, I didn't want him to interrupt us." Shamara was thinking about that kiss and whatever else they might do. Her eyes strayed to the bed and she saw that there was already another form in it. "Who is that?!" Believing it to be Chaela and infuriated beyond reason, Shamara dashed across the room and jerked back the blanket.

The old man who was sleeping looked at Shamara and sighed deeply. "Princess! I am glad to see that you are alive and well."

"Master Nazzar!" Shamara was deeply ashamed for what she had just done.

Dagan came up behind her. "Who were you expecting to find?"

Shamara felt like a fool. "I…I…"

Dagan caressed her cheek. "Did you think I had a woman with me? Does that mean you might be jealous?"

"Don't be ridiculous! I …I just didn't want to be overheard." Shamara looked away from Dagan's knowing eyes. "Why should I be jealous?"

"I don't know. By the way, you never told me how lovely your sister is. She as much as told me that should I wish to forget my foolish challenge of Avar that she would be more than willing to marry me."

Shamara clenched her fists, wishing Chaela were within striking distance. Then she relaxed them. "Perhaps you would be better off taking her up on her generous offer."

Dagan framed her face with his hands. "You are the only woman I want, Shamara."

She looked into his dark eyes. "Dagan, Avar will not deliberately lose to you. He wishes to marry me, so now he intends to fight to win."

"I guessed that the gods were not favoring the match between Chaela and Avar when she made her offer." Dagan sighed, then looked back at Shamara. "I must challenge him, Shamara."

"Why?" she demanded. "Because of your foolish pride? Because everyone in the galaxy knows your intention and you would be humiliated for backing down now?"

Dagan laughed softly as he caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. "You haven't heard me, Shamara. I told you that you are the only woman that I want. If I cannot have you, I would rather Avar ended my life."

"That is foolish!" Shamara felt tears forming. She didn't want Dagan to see her cry so she forced them back. "I insist you withdraw. I do not want your death on my conscience."

"So it is your conscience that has brought you here?" Dagan seemed to be annoyed. His hands dropped from her face. "You had best return to your room and let me sleep."

"But…"

A throat cleared, and she looked in the direction of the bed from where it had come and realized she was still holding the blanket. "Oh!" She was actually glad of the distraction as she hurried to cover Dagan's old teacher. When she tucked the blanket up to his chin, she felt his bony hands grasping hers. 

Shamara began to feel a strange energy flowing into her from Master Nazzar's hands. The room seemed to spin around her and she heard Dagan asking if she was all right although his voice seemed to be many miles away. Nazzar let go of her hands, and Shamara took a deep breath. It was a deep, cleansing breath, such as the breath she might take after remaining under water for a very long time. She had some difficulty focusing for a moment, and during that time she looked at Dagan and thought he was a stranger, but she recognized Nazzar. Shamara was momentarily confused.

"Shamara, you should return to your room."

She mentally shook herself and looked at Dagan. His tone had been rather flat. "I…I was hoping we could talk more."

"I need my rest, Shamara."

Taeron poked his head in. "Princess, you have surely told him what you need to. Now let us get back to your room before your absence is discovered."

Dagan came to Shamara and put his arm around her waist to escort her to the balcony. "Your imperial god is waiting."

"Dagan, won't you please listen to reason?" She asked desperately as they reached the balcony.

"Good-bye, Shamara." He turned and went back into his room.

Taeron was waiting beside the rope. "Hurry, princess."

Shamara stared at the empty doorway for a moment. "What is wrong with him?" she whispered angrily to herself.

"Think about it later!" Taeron was already climbing up. "Follow me. When I get up there I will pull you up."

Shamara's thoughts were a whirl as she slowly crawled up behind Taeron. First she had to consider the strange feelings she had gotten from Master Nazzar's touch. Even now she couldn't think of the words to describe what had happened to her, and she felt somehow different. Then there was Dagan's behavior. He had been quite pleased to see her. Her lips still tingled from his kiss, and then he seemed to want her gone. Of course, she had to realize that he needed his rest if he was going to challenge Avar. Shamara wished he wasn't so damned stubborn!

By the time Taeron finally reached her room and began pulling her up, she was relieved because she was tired. When she reached the top, a hand reached down to grasp her arm. Shamara hadn't thought Taeron would be so thoughtful, especially after all the complaining he had done this night.

But as she was hauled into the room, she saw that Taeron was standing across the room with a terrified look on his now pale face. Shamara slowly raised her head, and then flinched when she saw that it was her father who was holding her arm. The anger she had seen last night at the supper table was nothing compared to the blazing fury she now saw.

Shamara swallowed nervously. "Good-evening father."

He glared at her in silence for several moments, and when she thought she couldn't take any more, he spoke through gritted teeth. "I thought I would be doing you a favor you didn't deserve by coming to speak to you. I didn't expect to find you dangling hundreds of feet above the ground in some foolish attempt to visit your lover."

Shamara gasped. "Father! Prince Dagan is not my lover!" He raised a brow and she remembered that he had interrupted a trance when they were in a most compromising situation. Although her face was blazing in embarrassment at the look he was giving her, she would not back down. "It is true! He has behaved honorably towards me!"

"I suppose I can credit him for sending you back up here." He sighed, then glanced at Taeron. "I know my daughter can be very persuasive, Taeron, but I am disappointed that you would allow her to manipulate you when you are to have only her safety in your mind."

"You aren't going to chop off his head!" Shamara gasped and looked at Taeron. Taeron swallowed.

Trey snorted. "Why would I do such a thing? I am more likely to chop off your head than Taeron's!"

Shamara put her hand to her neck, already imagining a blade slicing through.

Her father chuckled. "I am not going to do anything so drastic. Taeron, you may leave. I want to speak to Shamara alone."

When he had gone, Shamara remarked, "I will just tell him anyway what you say to me."

He moved to a chair and sat down and Shamara hurried to sit at his feet. "I am glad that you have a close relationship with Taeron. In fact, that relationship was the subject of Avar's complaints to me today. He suspects that Taeron is your lover, and I admit that I was insulted by his implications. I trust you and I trust Taeron. I have always thought of Taeron as another of my sons."

"What else did Avar complain about?" asked Shamara bitterly. She could not imagine spending the rest of her life with such a crybaby.

"He told me of your pleas on behalf of Prince Dagan. Did you believe he might spare Dagan? Avar is even more adamant now that Dagan must die so that he doesn't have to worry that you will dishonor him."

"I do not want to marry Avar!" Shamara suddenly blurted.

"What is your objection? He is young, handsome and strong. The kingdom of his father is very wealthy and growing. Our trade ties with them will strengthen with your marriage to him. Our treaties with Teralon depend on this marriage." Trey raised a brow as he looked down at her. "Give me a good reason, Shamara, to ignore all those facts. In my eyes, he is the ideal son-in-law."

"But…but what of Prince Dagan? You certainly had the highest recommendations for him!"

"Many years ago I felt I had a reason to negotiate with Bayman, and marriage between you and Dagan seemed ideal. Since then Bayman has been so terribly mismanaged that making an alliance with it would not be in the best interests of Calabria. In addition, you yourself have told me that Dagan cannot protect you. How would he stop a man such as Avar of Teralon from taking you from him once you did become his wife? My advisors tell me that despite its technology, Bayman has become weak and could be conquered by any well-trained force." He reached down to stroke her hair. "Shamara, can you give me a good reason to set aside your oath to Avar?"

Shamara couldn't keep her silence any longer. "He has been with Chaela! I don't want to marry a man who has been with my sister!"

Her father didn't seem surprised and Shamara realized her mother must have discovered what was going on. Shamara wouldn't be surprised if Trey also knew that Chaela was carrying Avar's child. "You are going to have to give me a better reason, Shamara. I regret that Avar has dishonored your sister, but I strongly suspect Chaela played a very prominent role in that. You are just going to have to live with it. You have made your objection to Avar know to me. Now, why should I favor Dagan over the heir of Teralon?"

Shamara didn't know what he wanted her to say. He waited patiently for her response, and when she didn't say anything, he sighed and stood.

"We will have to rely on the gods, Shamara. If you don't know what you want, then the gods will decide Dagan's fate." He kissed the top of her head, then walked to the door.

She took a step after him. "Father, I do not want to see Dagan die."

He smiled. "I didn't think that you did. Perhaps if you come up with an answer to my question before tomorrow, you won't have to."

"What should I do, father?" Shamara wanted to do what was right. "I have already asked Dagan not to challenge Avar, but he will not listen to me."

"And why is that?" Trey chuckled when she didn't say anything. "You don't have to answer, Shamara. I already know the reason. Men in love do very foolish things. Now I suggest you get some rest because I expect you to be at my side tomorrow."

"You want me to watch Dagan die?" Shamara was horrified.

"Perhaps the gods will favor him, Shamara. You know as well as I do that even the most skilled of fighters can make mistakes. Often their lives depend upon that mistake. I suggest you pray to the gods if you have so little faith in Dagan of Bayman." He walked out the door, and Shamara heard him give instructions to the guards. One of the men walked into her room, and without glancing at her, pulled the rope she had made up and carried it out the door with him.

Shamara stared at the door long after he left. Her father really didn't trust her! Then again, Shamara knew she might have climbed back down that rope in an effort to talk some sense into Dagan. She went to her window and looked down into the darkness for a moment, gauging her chances of not breaking every bone in her body by jumping. The odds were not in her favor, so she looked upward, and raising her arms to the sky, she prayed to the gods to spare Dagan's life even if he were not successful against Avar.

Exhausted from her climb down and up the improvised rope and feeling overwhelmed by the events of the day, Shamara went to her bed and was annoyed but too tired to do anything about the lack of bedding. The guard had taken that with him too. As she laid her head on the pillow, she thought of what she had expected on her return. After a comfortable journey in from the Wastelands spaceport, Shamara had expected to finalize plans for the mock duel between Avar and Dagan. She certainly hadn't foreseen any trouble between her sister and her lover. They were obviously in the midst of a lover's quarrel; Shamara could see just by the way the looked at each other that they had deep feelings for one another, but their pride was standing in the way. Shamara thought it was very unfair that she was suffering because of Chaela's pride.

With a sigh, Shamara realized that she was suffering because of her own pride. When she had become aware of Dagan's woman, she had become as infuriated as she was this evening believing he must travel with her. That was why she had made an oath with Avar, to get back at Dagan. She certainly didn't think it would come to this! Now because she had acted impulsively and childishly, Dagan would lose his life. She could not help the tears that slipped from her eyes.

__

"If I cannot have you, I would rather Avar ended my life."

Shamara pounded on her pillow. Was he completely without any sense? She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she tried to will herself to him, to meet him in a trance. But soon her eyelids grew heavy and she drifted to a place far away and long ago.

_"Who are you thinking about with such a sweet smile?"_

She opened her eyes and turned her head to see Camrin leaning against the stone wall near the entrance to the garden. "I was thinking of Dagmar."

"His name is Dagmaeus and has been since his father bestowed upon him his dark powers." Camrin stared at her as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you not afraid of him, Ulfyna?"

She smiled and sighed. "I do not fear him. He is kind and gentle."

"Unlike me?" Camrin raised a brow.

Ulfyna could feel the evil rolling off him like waves and the very air she breathed was defiled by his rotting soul. "I should go inside."

"You wouldn't want your master to catch you in the garden in the dark with me, would you?" Camrin pushed himself off the wall and approached her.

Ulfyna glanced out to the dark garden, then back at Camrin. "I…I am not afraid of you."

"You should be, Ulfyna." As he advanced toward her, Ulfyna backed away. He merely laughed softly, and when he reached out for her, she turned and ran further into the garden. Ulfyna could hear him behind her, but she was quicker than he was, and as she darted around bushes and trees, she heard him cursing. Were it not so dark, she suspected he would easily hunt her down.

Finally, she scrambled up a tree and was able to reach higher limbs before she had to stop because he had come close.

"Where are you, wolf-girl?" Did he think she was foolish enough to answer? When she didn't, he chuckled, and Ulfyna shivered with sickening apprehension. "I will hunt you down, one day, Ulfyna. Unlike my foolish brother, I know what to do with you."

She stayed in the tree for what seemed like hours after Camrin had left. Her keen senses told her that he had gone, and she thought it very likely that Camrin was by the great fire drinking warm fermented fruits with his admirers. Ulfyna knew he had many followers who believed Iator should grant Camrin powers. She had even heard the rumor that Camrin was not the foster child Iator claimed he found in the forest, but that he was indeed Iator's son from another woman. Ulfyna didn't know what to believe.

Returning late to Queen Rahina's apartments, Ulfyna was not surprised to find it deserted because everyone would have sought their beds by now. But as she was walking to her own simple cot, she paused when she heard an anguished voice and she recognized it as Rahina.

"What should I do, Nazzar? The betrayal of my son is even worse than my betrayal of Iator!"

"You must do nothing, my queen," replied Ulfyna's master.

Ulfyna inched close to the queen's room and peered inside. The queen was pacing and wringing her hands. "You cannot imagine what I feel inside, Nazzar. He demands that I release his power, and I feel as though I am losing control. I am not as strong as I once was!"

"You must not release Mordraeus' evil power, Rahina!"

"I have paid a terrible price in capturing it, Nazzar. Do you think I would release it if there were any way of preventing it? You and I have both known for a very long time now that I am not the sacred shield of the prophecies! The power of Mordraeus will some day soon escape from the hold I have on it and we will all suffer his revenge."

"Not unless another comes to take your place."

"Are you speaking of Ulfyna? I am amazed by the progress she has made in the healing arts. Do you believe that she is the sacred shield, the one who would protect us from the evil of Mordraeus? Perhaps there is no way for us to stop the horror he would inflict upon mankind!"

Ulfyna stepped out the shadows and both Rahina and Nazzar were startled to see her. "I would help you, your majesty."

Rahina crossed the room to take her hands and pull her further inside. Ulfyna could feel that the older woman was very distraught. "You do not know what you are agreeing to, Ulfyna."

"I have heard enough to know that you need my help." She looked at Nazzar. "You have told me, master, that I am very skilled. I no longer feel weak after I heal others, and I do not need to touch you to know your thoughts. At this moment you are thinking that I am your only hope."

"Mordraeus was Iator's brother," Rahina told her. "He was consumed with such deep jealousy that when his father tried to bestow the powers of the skies, of thunder and wind and rain, on him, he drew out the darkest powers that have for eons remained dormant. Mordraeus gained the ability to change his shape and to give that power to others who would do his bidding, to create monsters to terrify so that he could gain control."

"What became of him?" asked Ulfyna fearfully.

Rahina looked at Nazzar, then down at her hands. "I was chosen to entrap his powers. I lured him to my bed, and when he was asleep, I stabbed him in the heart. As he died, I drew his essence to lock inside of me. Now it yearns to be free of my control."

"There is more," stated Ulfyna. She sensed that the queen was not telling everything.

"Camrin was born of that night," she admitted, then covered her face with her hands. "I could not forgive myself even though Iator would. He did not let me destroy the child of Mordraeus despite my warning that we could never be sure of how much of his brother's evil was drawn into him while I carried him inside me."

Ulfyna now understood her fear of Dagmaeus' handsome brother. "The power of Mordraeus is a danger to us all, isn't it?"

"All dark powers are a danger," said Nazzar, "If they are passed onto those whose hearts are not pure…"

"Dagmar has a pure heart," Ulfyna pointed out.

His mother looked away, but not before Ulfyna saw the sadness in her eyes. "I fear both of my sons are doomed."

Ulfyna looked to Nazzar for an explanation.

He also sighed. "Iator has decided that Dagmaeus cannot pass on his powers. He cannot risk one such as Mordraeus getting control of such strong power."

Ulfyna knew what it meant without asking them. Iator meant for Dagmar to die alone, isolated, unable to pass on his powers. 

"Not again, princess." Shamara felt strong arms around her and she buried her face in the shoulder of her imperial guard. "I truly hope that this is a duty Amyr does not expect of me. I had no training for this."

Despite the deep sadness that she felt, Shamara smiled. "I am sorry, Taeron."

"Tomorrow, this will be all over," he said as he patted her back. "We must believe in the will of the gods. Without it, we would be lost."

Shamara wished she knew what the gods wanted of her and of Dagan.

What had they demanded of Ulfyna?


	30. The gods show their favor

****

Calabria, Imperial Palace

"You are suddenly very quiet," commented Dagan as he glanced at Vanig. The captain of his dragoons was watching Avar work through a warm-up routine before a lively audience consisting of his guards, brothers and several men and women of Teralon and Calabria. The prince of Teralon had gathered quite a following during his stay on Calabria and they did not hesitate to show their favor now in their cheers. Dagan, on the other hand, stood alone with Vanig. Dagan suspected Vanig had sent the other guards off to make arrangements to transport his body back to Bayman when this debacle was over.

"This is a dark day," remarked Vanig sadly.

Dagan didn't need the reminder that he was most likely going to be sliced to ribbons by Avar. When Dagan was finally given an audience with Emperor Trey, Shamara had been at his side. She looked miserable, and he knew she had tried to communicate with him using her powers, but he refused to listen to her. Shamara wanted him to back down. She thought it was a matter of pride. Dagan didn't particularly have too much pride any more where she was concerned. She didn't seem to understand that his feelings for her were too deep for him to walk away. He couldn't accept Chaela or any other woman to replace her.

Given the circumstances of their meeting in Dagan and Shamara's trance, Dagan was not eager to look Shamara's father in the eye. When he did, he saw that the emperor appeared to be amused.

"So you have finally arrived on Calabria," he started.

"As you must know, I was on my way to claim Princess Shamara when my ship was…"

The emperor chuckled, and when a handful of the courtiers also laughed, Trey shot them a look that quickly shut them up. Dagan respected the control the emperor had on the sycophants of his court. He looked back at Dagan. "You need not explain, Prince Dagan. As you know, I am already very well aware of the trials you have suffered at the hands of the gods."

"I cannot express my gratitude for all that your people have done for me," said Dagan without looking at Shamara. 

The emperor did glance at his daughter. "Yes, well, that is a different matter entirely. Although I am glad of the results, I am not pleased with the means. You may know that my willful daughter did not have my permission to return to Mars Colony. Her reasons are as yet unclear."

Shamara made a sound of disgust and opened her mouth to speak, but her father put up his hand and she wisely pressed her lips shut. Instead she shot a glare at her sister, but Chaela was too preoccupied ogling Prince Avar of Teralon who had been standing several feet away flanked by his intimidating men.

"I have come here to fulfill my original mission," said Dagan.

Emperor Trey gave him a half-smile. "I regret that your original mission, meaning marriage to my daughter Shamara, can no longer be fulfilled. She has pledged an oath to marry Avar of Teralon in your absence." Trey held out his hand and Chaela stepped forward on cue. "I have another daughter of marriageable age. Chaela would make you an excellent wife."

Shamara muttered something that made her father chuckle but her sister glared at her. Dagan could only guess that Shamara made her views known about Chaela's qualifications to be an excellent wife. 

"You made an agreement with my father many years ago," Dagan reminded the most powerful man in the binary system. "I insist that you honor that agreement."

"You insist?" Trey raised a brow. "You are either very bold or very naïve, Dagan. As for the agreement with your father, he indicated that the end of it was mutual."

"Do I have no say in this matter?" demanded Dagan. He knew the outcome of this interview, yet it was his only recourse. Avar was going to kill him, and in the end, Dagan suspected Avar would take both Shamara and Chaela. He had hoped that Trey would be more understanding.

"The agreement was between myself and your father. If we were to have consulted you or Shamara, I suspected neither of you would have accepted the terms. Indeed, Shamara was very vocal about her refusal up to the point where she pledged to Avar." He nodded toward Chaela. "Are you turning down my alternate offering?"

"Respectfully so." Dagan noticed Chaela shrug as if he were inconsequential before stepping back behind her father.

"Perhaps we should put Avar to the question as he is the groom you intend to strand without a bride." Trey motioned him forward and Avar stepped away from his men who were grumbling about this insult to his honor. "What do you say, prince of Teralon? Do you wish to set aside Shamara's oath? Perhaps you have found another to your liking?"

Although Avar glanced past Trey to Chaela, the object of his gaze looked away. At that moment Dagan wanted to slap her silly. Perhaps he should marry her and make every minute of the rest of her life an eternity of punishment for her foolishness.

Avar looked at the emperor. "I will not set aside Princess Shamara's oath. She pledged to become my wife and I will hold her to it."

"Dagan of Bayman believes he has a prior claim." 

"There is one way to settle it," stated Avar.

"The gods will decide," agreed Trey.

So now Dagan was only moments away from facing Avar. The winner would walk away with his life and Princess Shamara; the loser would die ignobly before the royal court of Calabria.

Dagan turned away from Vanig's fatalistic expression and looked at the weapons hanging on the wall from which he would choose. As he was trying to decide which might suit his style or lack thereof, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he half-turned to see Taeron.

"I want you to know that I consider you the better man for my princess," he said as he reached past Dagan to pluck a long sword from the wall. "This one is light and long enough to keep him at bay. Avar will have to work for every hit."

Dagan could almost feel the bite of Avar's sword cutting his flesh already. "Do I have any chance, Taeron?"

"Not in the least, my lord. With your powers, you would give him some trouble, but he agreed not to use his wings and you agreed not to reduce him to ashes. I believe Princess Shamara would like to see both him and her sister as only piles of cinders. I confess nothing would give me greater pleasure either at this moment." Taeron sighed. "If you can keep your head, my lord, remember that Avar favors his left and will occasionally leave his right unprotected."

"I'm sure you would know what to do with that information," remarked Dagan, "but you waste your breath on me."

Master Nazzar approached Dagan when Taeron had gone. Dagan sensed the old man was in turmoil over what he was about to witness. "Let me give you a blessing, my son." Dagan lowered his head and Nazzar chanted words Dagan didn't recognize before laying his hand on his head. When he raised it, Nazzar was looking at him expectantly. Dagan returned his stare silently, and then Nazzar sighed and walked away, his shoulders stooped.

"Is it too late to accept Chaela?" asked Vanig at his side. "She is easy on the eyes and seems to be of a passionate nature. You could do worse."

Dagan glanced at him. "She is already carrying Avar's child. Do you want it to be my successor?"

Vanig chewed his lip in thought, then said, "It would depend on your desire to live."

Disgusted in his man's lack of any confidence in him, Dagan moved away to the center of the training arena, where Avar was already getting instructions from a man considered the judge. Dagan also listened to the man's exhortations about neither of them using their special powers, that they could use only their swords and their strength. He finally stepped away, and Dagan turned to take his position when he saw Shamara standing between her father and her imperial guard. Shamara looked white as a ghost as she chewed on her bottom lip. Her father took her hand and put it on his arm, then signaled for them to begin.

Avar wasted no time in his attack. He obviously intended to end the debacle with a few swipes of his sword because Dagan barely stumbled back from having his gut ripped open. As it was, he felt the burning pain of a flesh wound and noted the surprise in Avar's eyes that he had failed. Dagan managed to regain his balance and throw up his sword to fend off another attack. Only a few minutes into the cat and mouse duel Dagan was exhausted by Avar's continuous attacks, each with so much strength that Dagan was surprised the blade of his sword did not snap. He was reminded of the brief fight with Magnar, another of his foolish decisions to prove something he could not. That time Shamara had saved him. This time she could not. Avar was clearly toying with Dagan who noted the Calabrians seemed to enjoy every drop of blood Avar drew with his well-placed hits. He was sure he imagined Shamara's gasps when Avar hit him. After one such hit, he dared to glance toward the dais where the emperor sat with his daughters, but he had no time to find Shamara's face before Avar knocked him off his feet.

Dagan fell on his back, and as his head hit the stone floor, he looked again toward the emperor. He seemed to have difficulty focusing, or maybe it was the realization that his life had come to an end as Avar swung back his sword to deliver the deathblow. But Dagan could not see Shamara standing by her father. Instead he saw what appeared to be the ghost of a woman with long, flowing golden hair and large eyes glistening with tears. Their eyes met, and a jolt ran straight through Dagan before he was sucked into a vortex and lost all consciousness. So this was death, was his last thought before he became lost in a black void.

He had hoped to return to self-awareness in a new state, no longer a part of his mortal body. To be among the gods was an aspiration he had for many years. But he had returned to his own mortal body, yet instead of lying bleeding on his back, he found himself standing over Avar who was panting and bleeding below him, fear for his own life glistening in his eyes. Dagan realized his own sword was bloody, that his body seemed charged and he now had the power of life or death over Avar of Teralon. How this had happened, he did not know, but he was sure the gods were responsible.

There were people hissing for him to kill Avar, bloodthirsty Calabrians, no doubt, but Dagan couldn't ignore the pleading in Avar's eyes. "Do you relinquish your right to Princess Shamara, or must I end your life?" Where did he get the nerve to ask Avar when he didn't even know how they came to be in this position? Was he dead? Was this a hallucination?

He heard a whimper and suspected it was Chaela. Avar obviously didn't want to be in this position, was disoriented because he had been defeated, but he had a very strong sense of self-preservation. "I do. I will not hold Princess Shamara to any oath."

Dagan hesitated, wondering if Avar would use some sort of treachery against him, but the other man seemed more wary of him, so he finally relaxed and stepped away from him. There was a moment of awkward silence as Dagan tossed aside his sword, then crossed the room to Emperor Trey.

His face expressionless, Trey said, "The gods have favored you, and you, in turn, have shown Avar an undeserved mercy." He took Shamara's hand and drew her forward. "You have earned the right to exchange vows with my daughter."

Dagan glanced briefly at Shamara to see that she was relieved he was still alive. Beyond that, he could not discern her feelings for him. All that was required for her to be his wife was this exchange of vows before witnesses, but Dagan did not want Shamara if she could not love him as he did her.

"My lord," he said as he turned to face Trey. "I release you and your daughter from any and all agreements. I would not have Shamara marry where she does not love."

Trey raised a brow, and after a sidelong glance at Shamara, which Dagan did not dare follow, he smiled at Dagan. "Truly you have been given some wisdom from the gods as well as your hidden strengths." The emperor of Calabria stood to address all that were present. "Let it be known that any man who can win the hearts of my daughters may have them as wife, no matter who he might be."

"Father!" Both Chaela and Shamara exclaimed at the same time.

Dagan turned on his heel and walked on shaky legs back to Vanig who stared at him with wide eyes. "Let's prepare to return to Bayman."

"But…but what about the princess?" Vanig sputtered.

"She wanted me to release her from her vow to Avar so that he could wed her sister. I have done so. Now we can return home to finish the work I have begun in rebuilding Bayman." He ignored the cacophony of excited voices discussing the rewards in winning the affections of the Calabrian emperor's daughters. Dagan was glad when he could no longer hear them when he finally shut the door to his room.

Nazzar had been sitting cross-legged on the floor, his eyes closed and hands clasped as if he were in prayer, but when the door opened, he rose to his feet. "My lord!" He took in Dagan's ragged appearance and hurried to find water and cloth to bandage the wounds Avar had given him.

Dagan sat on a stool so that Nazzar could reach him to cleanse away the blood and apply a salve before wrapping him with bandages. The old man did not ask about the fight. Dagan didn't have any answers to any questions anyway.

A short knock preceded Vanig's entrance into the apartment. "My prince, we are not allowed to leave Calabria."

Dagan rubbed his eyes and winced from the stinging pain of Nazzar's healing ointment. "Why are we being detained? Did I not do that spoiled brat's bidding? Did I not give these bloodthirsty Calabrians a good enough show? What more must I do?"

"Make my daughter realize what is in her heart."

Dagan whipped his head around to see that the emperor had entered the room after Vanig. He felt just a little embarrassed by his words, but he would not take them back. Dagan looked away.

"Leave us," Trey ordered Nazzar and Vanig. He didn't speak again until they were gone. "That was an impressive show you gave my people. You need not improve upon it. My barbarous subjects quite enjoyed it although they would have preferred to see you split open Avar's arrogant head."

"I rather thought they favored him," muttered Dagan.

"Calabrians have and always will favor the strongest and most ruthless. They are a difficult people to control and resist all efforts to soften them. As for my spoiled daughter, I am hoping you know best how to deal with her."

Dagan looked at Trey to see that his expression had softened. "Your daughter is relieved I yet live because she might feel some guilt for getting me into this mess in the first place."

"My daughter _should_ feel guilty. She would not have blindly made an oath to a man so obviously in love with her sister if she had not been so blindly jealous herself."

Dagan frowned. "You knew about Chaela and Avar? Why would you let Shamara marry Avar?"

Trey chuckled. "I was testing the depth of Shamara's feelings."

"I am not following your logic." Dagan thought the emperor's methods were quite bizarre.

"Lord Duo told me that Shamara learned of your concubine and became furious. I wondered how deeply hurt she was."

"Her pride was hurt," argued Dagan.

"If that were the case, she would have just left you on Mars Colony. Shamara wanted to hurt you by making an oath to Avar. Unfortunately her little scheme backfired."

"Are you suggesting that Shamara does have feelings for me beyond her obligation to duty?" Dagan did not dare to hope that was what her father meant.

"I think my daughter wants to please me so much that she doesn't know what she really feels. She is very keenly aware that she was the first imperial female accepted and raised by her father. She feels obligated to serve as an example for others. Shamara seems to have a deep need to prove herself worthy, but she doesn't understand that I was motivated by love and that I would continue to love her unconditionally just as I do Chaela despite her faults." Trey smiled at him. "In answer to your question, I would never have allowed Shamara to return to Mars Colony with Duo if I didn't think she is in love with you. What insanity do you think prompted her to climb down a rope of knotted clothing to see you?"

Despite the pain, Dagan chuckled. "That was rather foolish of her."

"I am certain that my daughter will come to her senses, and that is why I will not allow you to leave Calabria." Trey came to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "After watching you today, I am also certain that you are the man the gods meant for Shamara."

"But…but you said…"

Trey cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Forget what I said. I will be very amused to watch the sad attempts of the suitors to win the affections of my daughters when I know they are already engaged."

"I'm not as sure as you are about Shamara," said Dagan.

"However you choose to draw out her feelings, Prince Dagan, I will not interfere. I consider you her husband already." As Dagan pondered the exact meaning of that, the emperor headed to the door. "Don't waste too much time, Dagan, and don't, for the love of the gods, anger her again. I haven't a clue what lunacy it would inspire in her."

After the emperor had gone, Vanig and Nazzar returned. Vanig was telling Nazzar the story of Dagan's fight with Avar, and Dagan listened with as much interest as his old master. He had truly been unconscious while he fought Avar with, in Vanig's words, the strength of a god. Nazzar seemed to be pleased, but Dagan was troubled. When Vanig had gone onto the balcony to stand guard, Dagan questioned Master Nazzar.

"How could such a thing happen?"

Nazzar shrugged. "There are many who become berserked in times of battle."

"Are you suggesting that I was berserked?" Dagan had heard stories of the condition that was the ultimate goal of a warrior. Men who achieved it supposedly became extraordinary fighters who were all but invincible. Could such a thing have happened to him?

"I am quite certain of it," Nazzar answered him. "What other explanation could there be? According to Vanig, you fought with the strength and spirit of a god."

Dagan remembered the vision he had seen before he had lost consciousness and told Nazzar of it. "I am quite certain that it was the wolf-girl, Ulfyna, from my dreams."

"Interesting," was the only remark his teacher made. Then he smiled. 

Although he would have liked to question Nazzar further, Dagan felt exhausted from his fight and his wounds. He was about to head to his bed when there was pounding at the door. Vanig crossed the room to open it, but it shoved into him, almost knocking him to the floor.

Shamara walked into the room, Taeron trailing behind, his expression little different from a nursemaid suffering a tantrum from her charge. Dagan knew the reason immediately when she caught sight of him near the bed.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" she demanded angrily.

Dagan looked from the bed to her. "I was going to get some rest."

"I didn't mean that!" She made a sound of disgust. "You know exactly what I am talking about!"

Taeron put his hand on Vanig's shoulder. "I think we had better give them a little privacy. This could get very ugly."

"I will join you," said Nazzar quickly, and the three left them alone.

Dagan sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. "I am very tired, Shamara. I thought I did what you wanted."

She clenched her fists. "I didn't want a hundred suitors!"

"I'm sure you are under-estimating the number of men who would want to win the heart of the first princess of the Calabrian Empire." Dagan had to hold back his laughter at the horrified look on Shamara's face.

She started to pace. "What am I going to do?"

"Fall in love with one of them as soon as possible," he suggested although he truly hoped Emperor Trey was right about her already being in love with him. "I'd be happy to help in any way I can."

Shamara glared at him. "You have done enough already!"

"Then perhaps you might let me get some rest."

She came to sit beside him on the bed, and before Dagan could guess her intent, she put her hand over the worst of his wounds. The warmth of her healing energy spread through him and was soon replaced by the heat of another kind. As Shamara peeled away the bandages Nazzar had just put on to reveal healing flesh, Dagan wondered if Trey was testing him. If the emperor meant what he said, Dagan could spend the night demonstrating a few things Shamara had told him of Dr. Nelson's teachings. On the other hand, if her father wanted to gauge the depth of his honorable intentions toward his daughter, Dagan would be better off escorting Shamara to the door.

Remembering the emperor's strange way of thinking, Dagan decided on the latter approach. "I think you had better go, Shamara."

Her fingers skimming over his flesh was very distracting. "Not yet. I may have missed some wounds."

Dagan grabbed her wrists before she could get too carried away. "I need rest, Shamara, and I think you have some suitors who are eager to win your heart."

Shamara frowned, huffed, then stood. "Is this all the thanks I get?"

She expected him to thank her? "What were you expecting?"

She rolled her eyes as if he were too dense to understand. "At the very least, a kiss."

"At the very least?" Dagan could easily imagine the very most.

Shamara shoved him back on the bed, and putting her hands on either side of him, she leaned forward. "Now its time for the reward."

"Why do I owe you a reward?" Dagan's common sense was very quickly disappearing. Her long hair was draped around them and her warm body was almost touching his. The gods must be testing him again!

"Don't be silly, Dagan, _I'm_ going to give _you_ a reward you will never forget."

Before she could deliver on her claim, Taeron stepped back into the room. "All this talk of rewards is making me think of the reciprocal punishment I will get if said rewards are handed out."

Dagan was both relieved and annoyed by his interruption. Shamara was infuriated.

"How dare you interrupt my privacy!" She pushed herself away from Dagan and turned on Taeron.

Accustomed to her outbursts, Taeron merely sighed and grabbed her arm. "I think your father mentioned that he expected you for the midday meal."

Shamara let Taeron escort her to the door. "Am I free to leave my room?"

"You will have to discuss that with him. I suggest that you do not throw his meal on the floor this time."

They stopped at the door, and Shamara frowned at Dagan. "I hope you will have a plan to get me out of the mess you have gotten me into." Then she left.

Dagan sighed and stared at the ceiling. There was no way he could win with her.

"There you are! Finally!" Chaela grabbed Shamara's arm the minute she entered the private dining room of the first imperial family and dragged her towards the window to the garden. "That bastard dog from Bayman almost killed Avar!"

Shamara suppressed the urge to slap her sister. "Avar would have killed Dagan! At least Dagan knows how to show some mercy."

"Go to Avar and heal him."

"I will not!" Shamara was outraged. She wouldn't lift so much as her little finger to help him after all the trouble he had caused.

"An excellent suggestion." Shamara felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see her mother smiling at her. 

"Mother, I have no intention of healing him! You know he would have gladly killed Dagan!" Shamara couldn't believe her mother was siding with Chaela.

Arora continued to smile. "Perhaps you should learn a lesson from Dagan and show some compassion for Avar. He was far worse for the fight than your Bayman prince."

"He's not _my_ prince. Besides, maybe Avar needs to suffer a little to learn some humility." Shamara gave her sister a half-smile. "I'll heal him tomorrow."

"You spoiled brat!" Chaela clenched her hands into fists.

Arora pushed herself between them. "I wonder what is taking your father so long."

Shamara shrugged. "Besides, I only just finished healing Dagan and I feel too weak to do any more today."

"Is that all you were doing with Prince Dagan?"

"Just what do you mean by that?" 

Arora sighed. "I do hope Trey hasn't been cornered by the Varoonyan ambassador! That man doesn't even have to take a breath when he is speaking."

"You know exactly what I mean! I thought you looked a little flushed when you came in here."

"You're the expert!"

"Taeron!" called Arora. "Would you please see what is taking the emperor so long to get here?"

"I'd bet you aren't as innocent as you pretend to be!" accused Chaela.

"At least some people might take that bet whereas everyone knows that your innocence is long gone."

Chaela launched herself at Shamara who was glad for the opportunity to take a few pieces out of her sister. Arora skittered away and ordered Amyr to break them up, but Amyr was more interested in trying to place a bet with Staefyn over who might come out victorious. Chaela was no slouch when it came to her imperial lessons, but Shamara was far more experienced in real fights. She knew not to hold back and it took several costly minutes for Chaela to realize this was not a training exercise. As they kicked and scratched and punched, the younger children were hustled from the room. They overturned the table, the dishes clattered to the floor, breaking into many pieces. Amyr managed to save a bowl of roasted bark beetles and stood by munching on them as he watched. Arora didn't bother trying to stop the fight. Shamara was glad because she had a lot of frustration to work out on her selfish sister.

Finally the door opened, and Trey stepped into the room. Chaela froze long enough for Shamara to land a good punch that would give her a nasty black eye. Never mind she would have to heal it later. For now it gave her great pleasure to see it puff out as Chaela dropped on her back, her eyes rolled up before her lids dropped down.

Shamara rubbed her hands together. "Well, I guess I am ready to return to my tower room."

Trey raised a brow. "I can hardly lock you away when there are so many young men who are eager to read you sonnets and shower you with flowers."

She really thought her father would be infuriated. He seemed amused. "But…but…"

"I suppose Chaela deserved that," he said mournfully, then glanced at Amyr. "Put that food down and take Chaela to her room. And you, Shamara, will care for your sister. I expect to see both of you properly dressed and behaved in the banquet hall this evening."

Shamara groaned. The last thing she wanted was to be paraded out in front of men who wanted the power and wealth that would be theirs upon marrying her. She knew that not a single one of them could win her heart. If they could, they would have done so by now.

"Father," she said as Amyr reluctantly followed his father's instructions and lifted Chaela. "Will you please reconsider this silly edict? I don't think I'm going to fall in love with any of these fools who have been at court since the last time you put me up for grabs."

He chuckled. "I anticipated your reluctance to consider any of them. I've already sent out messages to the far corners of the binary system! There should be new candidates arriving daily if not hourly."

Shamara was horrified.

"One of them might be the man for you!" Her father seemed to be amused by what Shamara considered a fiasco in the making.

"Father, did Lord Duo bump your head too hard in the practice room?" Shamara could think of no other reason for his behavior.

Trey laughed and put his arm around her shoulders. "I am in my right mind, Shamara. Prince Dagan made me realize that I didn't have your best interests at heart by arranging marriages for you."

"I would still be willing to marry him," she offered, then held her breath hoping her father would consent.

"You heard Dagan as clearly as I did. He's quite eager to return to Bayman, now that this business is concluded, but he agreed to stay a few days to recuperate." He squeezed her shoulders. "I hope you will thank him properly for what he has done."

"I tried to!" she blurted, then blushed although she didn't think her father could guess how she had intended to thank him.

He raised his brows, and Shamara glanced at Taeron to see that he was rolling his eyes, avoiding her gaze. That rat must have told her father! "You had best go take care of your sister."

"I didn't hit her hard," muttered Shamara.

"Then healing her shouldn't take too much out of you." He led her to the door. "I want to see two young women who will make me proud."

Shamara couldn't speak for Chaela, but she would do her best. Taeron followed her out, but she waited until they were well away from the dining room before she spoke to him. "Did you tell my father about my visit to Dagan?"

"I didn't say anything!"

"You had better not be reporting to my father."

"Or what?"

"Just shut up and do your duty which is, if I recall, to protect me."

"I keep trying," grumbled Taeron, "but I end up doing things I don't remember as being part of my training."

"You are going to be very busy with all these suitors milling about. Later we can work out some signals so that you can get rid of the truly undesirable men."

Taeron covered his face with a hand. "I hope you fall in love soon."

Shamara ignored him as she continued on her way to Chaela's room. Taeron would do what she wanted, if not because he was an imperial guard, it would be because they were friends and had grown up together. She felt closer to Taeron than she did her own brother.

The latter was leaving Chaela's room when they arrived. "She's in a sour mood, sister." Amyr glanced at Taeron. "Why don't you come with me? I'm sure they have things to discuss that aren't for your ears."

"I've heard it all," grumbled Taeron, but he chose to go with Amyr anyway.

Shamara hesitated, then pushed into Chaela's room. Her sister was lying on her bed with a cold compress against her swelling face. Sighing, Shamara crossed the room, took the cloth from her and replaced it with her hand.

Chaela tried to move her face away from her touch. "I don't need your help! I'd rather you go help Avar."

"I have no intention of touching him until tomorrow," snapped Shamara as she forced her healing touch to Chaela. "He deserves his pain and you know it!"

Chaela continued to pout after Shamara had healed her.

Shamara could not tolerate her silence after several minutes. "I was completely oblivious to your feelings for Avar. You could have told me before that silly oath. As for Avar, do you really believe he deserves your love, Chaela? He made an oath to me knowing exactly what he was doing."

Tears shimmered in her sister's eyes. "He did it because he was sure his father would refuse to accept anything less than the first princess. We couldn't help our feelings."

Shamara wanted to ask her sister about her baby, but she was sure Chaela did not know yet. As long as she remained ignorant, events would unfold as the gods willed. "Do you think Avar will ask for you?"

Chaela shrugged. "Perhaps he is angry that Dagan defeated him. Avar has too much pride." She looked at Shamara. "What about Dagan?"

"What about Dagan?" Shamara was defensive. "He doesn't want to marry me. Well, I don't want to marry him either!" But even as she said it, she knew she could not even imagine herself with another man.

"You're not going to win him back with that kind of attitude," sniffed Chaela.

Shamara glared at her. "I just told you…"

"Shamara! You are worse than a child sometimes. You can't really envision yourself rolling around in the dark with that prince from Varoonya, or any man from Calabria, for that matter." Chaela raised a knowing brow and Shamara wondered if she actually had some Guerani power. "I've seen the way you look at Prince Dagan."

Shamara sighed. "I told you already, Chaela, that Dagan and I do not know each other that way. He has done nothing but kiss me, and the one time he might have done more, father interrupted our trance. Now I have Taeron watching over me like the high and mighty guardian of my virtue. You don't think father put him up to it, do you?"

"I can't believe you can't shake off your imperial guard." Chaela laughed. "Taeron should be easy to be rid of. Give him a distraction. He is a man, you know."

"That is not going to work!" Shamara did not think Taeron would ignore his duties for the sake of an available female. "He is very serious. Besides, I wouldn't want Taeron to lose his future position as Amyr's imperial guard just so I can 'roll around in the dark' with Prince Dagan." Shamara frowned. "Does it really have to be in the dark? I would like to get a good look at him, to see what is going on."

Chaela giggled. "You are a wicked girl, sister."

As their father ordered, both Shamara and Chaela came down to the banquet hall dressed in fine attire. All eyes were on them and the room became quiet as they walked through a parting sea of courtiers. Shamara noticed that there were more men present already although her father had made his announcement only hours earlier. They looked like wolves ready to pounce on prey, so Shamara was very glad that Taeron walked behind them, his hand resting on his sword. No man would cross him to get to them. 

The imperial family rarely took their meal in the banquet hall, so this was a special occasion. Her father made a speech to which no one listened, but he seemed to be amused by all the attention his daughters were receiving. All male eyes were riveted to the high table as each man calculated his chances to enamor one of Emperor Trey's daughters.

Despite her reluctance to show any interest in the men, Shamara scanned the crowd searching for Dagan, but he was not in attendance. She suspected he was resting.

"I don't see Avar," commented Chaela. She was picking at her food. Shamara had absolutely no appetite with so many people looking at them. "Won't you reconsider and heal him tonight?"

Shamara looked at her. "No. He deserves every bit of pain he is feeling. You shouldn't feel sorry for him."

"Princess, are you going to eat your meal or not?" asked Taeron from behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she commented, "I swear you are more and more like your father every day. He eats like a Wasteland canyon beast, you know."

"A man needs his nourishment." Taeron reached past her to take some food from her plate. "Do you think Prince Dagan will refuse to eat our food? I suppose that will send him hurrying back to Bayman before he starves to death."

"Perhaps I should take him some fruit later," wondered Shamara aloud.

"I doubt the corridors will be safe for you."

"That is what I have you for, isn't it, Taeron?"

He raised a brow. "Do you really want me to kill a dozen suitors just so you can make sure Dagan's stomach doesn't growl?"

She turned away from him. Taeron was even more annoying than her brother. "Then I will get a servant to deliver some to him."

"Best be certain it is a very ugly servant," Chaela advised her.

"A very good suggestion, sister," added Amyr. "Now that Dagan is off the hook, he is free to sample the delights the palace has to offer."

Shamara frowned at him. "Are there any left that you have not?"

Smiling, her brother shrugged but did not answer. She thought about kicking him but doubted the bruise she might leave would influence him one way or another. Amyr wouldn't change his ways unless some female knocked him flat on his behind. Looking around the banquet hall Shamara didn't see any that could possible be a candidate to do so. Calabrian women threw themselves at his feet hoping that he might notice them, which he inevitably did but he took no more interest than to amuse himself. The foolish women no doubt felt honored by him. Although Shamara's father had implemented many changes on Calabria regarding the treatment of women, some things remained the same.

Shamara noticed Taeron speaking to a serving girl who was smiling and nodding, and when she walked away with a pleased look on her face, Shamara leaned over to her imperial guard. "Did you make plans with her? I thought you were supposed to be protecting me! I need that protection now more than ever after my father's ridiculous proclamation!"

Taeron was taken aback. "Princess! I made no such plans. I merely asked her to deliver what finicky Prince Dagan might consider edible food to his room."

Quickly looking for the departing servant girl, Shamara judged her too pretty to take him a meal. "I have lost my appetite, Taeron."

"I'm not done eating," he complained with a mournful glance at his still full plate of food.

"You can eat another time!"

Amyr chuckled as they both stood. "Your suitors are going to be disappointed by your disappearance."

From further down the table, Trey said, "Shamara, where are you going? You have only just gotten here."

"I believe she is planning to do something about Prince Dagan's terrible hunger," Amyr announced with a suggestive chuckle. His father's disapproving glare sobered her foolish brother immediately. Nothing could be worse than being on the receiving end of the emperor's frown, but Amyr had certainly earned it. He was spoiled, selfish, and lazy. Shamara wished the crowned prince would get a thoroughly deserved beating.

Shamara took advantage of the silent scolding her father was giving Amyr to escape with Taeron in tow. Many eyes were on her, and as they left the hall, she was very much aware that several men had also left their seats.

"Do you think they will chase me?" she asked Taeron.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the shadows after they had turned the corner. Two men walked past them. Shamara might have laughed if they hadn't been stalking her. When they were out of hearing, Taeron whispered, "I hope you have a good reason for doing this, princess! I am hungry, and you are unsafe."

"I have _you_ to protect me." She stepped out of the shadows, and fortunately there were no other men. They continued through the corridors, ducking out of sight when they heard any male voices. Finally they neared the tower where both her room and that of Prince Dagan was located just as the servant girl came around the corner carrying a tray.

Shamara walked to her and held out her hands. "Thank you for delivering the food. I will take it to Prince Dagan."

The young woman looked from Shamara to Taeron who nodded, then she shrugged and handed the tray to Shamara. Shamara glanced at Taeron. "I will be but a few moments."

He was half-smiling as he looked from her to the servant. "Take your time, princess."

Shamara frowned at him, then turned away. That sneak! He surely knew she wouldn't let that woman in Dagan's sight! This was his way of arranging the situation to his satisfaction. Shamara wanted to bash his head with the tray, but

Taeron probably wouldn't notice any pain. Even before there was an answer to her knock,

Shamara heard the woman giggling. Men were disgusting, selfish, loathsome…

__

"What are you doing here?"

The voice seemed to come from very far away. Shamara looked up to see Dagan standing in the doorway, but it wasn't really Dagan that she was seeing.

__

"I had to see you."

Shamara had said it, and yet she hadn't. She moved forward, past Dagan who stared at her dumbly. He seemed to be feeling some of the same confusion she felt.

__

"You should leave. You know we cannot be together."

"Shut the door, Dagmar. I am not going to leave."

"Princess, what are you doing here?" Shamara recognized Nazzar's voice. He was walking toward her, but when their eyes met, he suddenly stopped.

__

"Nazzar, I wish to be alone with Dagmar."

"Nazzar, it is best that you stay."

Nazzar looked at Shamara. "Princess, you should return to your own rooms. Where is your guard?"

Shamara felt intense frustration unlike she had ever felt in her life. Yet she stood dumbly with the tray in her hands, unable to move, only a foot away from Dagan who seemed to be in a similar state.

__

"I'm not going, Nazzar! I have been denied for thousands of years! I will not leave now!"

Nazzar reached out to Shamara, and when his hands covered hers where they were holding the tray, she suddenly felt the world spinning around her until there was nothing but blackness.

__

"What are you doing here, Ulfyna?"

Ulfyna had hoped no one would see her. She didn't count on the possibility that Nazzar was following her. "I was going for a walk."

He raised a brow. Nazzar might be old, but he was not a fool. He had probably seen everything and heard every excuse she could come up with. Ulfyna had no acceptable excuse for being in the men's training yard after the evening meal.

She let loose a long, frustrated sigh. "Nazzar, I cannot bear being locked away any longer!"

"You promised Queen Rahina that you would take the burden from her, that you would train to one day imprison the powers of darkness." Nazzar was scolding her, and Ulfyna did feel some guilt. She had made the promise to the queen, and yet at the time she hadn't realized what it would mean to her. As the days passed, she had a deep sense of missing something. And as the days turned into weeks during which time she trained with Rahina and Nazzar to trap and hold the evil spirits fighting to escape the older woman, Ulfyna realized she felt empty inside when she could not see Dagmar. Ulfyna missed him; her heart ached to be near him. She thought she might see him tonight, for she had heard that he occasionally trained by the light of the moon. But Nazzar must have read her mind to discover her plans.

"You must return to the queen's quarters." Without waiting for her response, Nazzar took her arm and led her away from the men's compound.

As they walked in the evening dusk, Ulfyna fumed about her failure, but as those feelings gradually subsided and she was able to focus, she picked up sensations from Nazzar. She schooled herself not to let him know that she had read his emotions because he would be very upset. Yet his training had not been in vain. In his touch she read ambivalence. Nazzar wanted to please the queen, yet part of him regretted the necessity of keeping Ulfyna from Dagmar. There was a romantic streak in the old man! If only there was some way to exploit it! When he glanced at her, she quickly looked away, hoping he hadn't read her thoughts.

They arrived back at the queen's apartments where Nazzar scolded the guards for allowing Ulfyna to leave unattended. The Calabrian oafs stared at him blankly then grunted an apology. Ulfyna did not like the Calabrian savages brought in from beyond the grassland. Their low intelligence coupled with their violent behavior ensured they would be nothing more than soldiers. If their species evolved to anything more than growling, snorting beasts, Ulfyna would be surprised. Anyway, she wasn't going to get past the two moronic gorillas standing guard at the door. They were now watching her with malevolence, probably because they feared their incompetence in letting her escape might lead to some type of punishment, such as a smaller meal of grubs and beetles or that they might not be allowed to molest the women. They were only concerned about their base, elemental needs and would protect the fulfilling of them ferociously.

Nazzar came to Ulfyna before he left. "I am sorry for the necessity of keeping you sequestered, Ulfyna, but the path you have chosen must be travelled alone."

She looked into his kind eyes. "I have been on the path all my life, Nazzar." Ulfyna left unspoken that she had hoped deep in her heart that one day she would find someone to travel with her.

He smiled sadly and caressed her cheek before leaving her alone with the two disgruntled savages at the door. Ulfyna paced for several moments, then shrugged and sat in the midst of the pile of pillows that served as her bed. She closed her eyes to practice the inner concentration that Rahina had taught her, but after several moments, she sighed and fell back to stare up at the ceiling. Although she had been training extensively, Ulfyna could not imagine imprisoning the spirit of the evil one inside her for many years. How could she do it?

"Are you thirsty or hungry, my lady?"

Ulfyna turned her head to see a young woman waiting anxiously for her response. These Guerani people from the hills were little better than the brutes from the grassland. They were so weak and subservient that one felt guilty giving them an order. This young woman had been serving Ulfyna for weeks, materializing when she sensed a need and melting into the shadows when her presence was not required. Her dark eyes met Ulfyna's without blinking. Ulfyna guessed she was an intelligent young woman who had the misfortune of being born to a backward people.

"I am both," she finally admitted.

The young woman nodded and left the room, slipping almost unnoticed past the Calabrians at the door. She returned a few moments later carrying a tray of food and a pitcher of sweet nectar. Ulfyna said nothing as she satisfied her hunger, but once she had finished and the young woman was clearing away the tray, Ulfyna had a revelation.

"You knew I was hungry, and you knew exactly what to bring me."

The woman looked at her but did not speak.

Ulfyna frowned. "I do not know your name although you have served me for many weeks since I have come here."

She seemed surprised, but after a moment of continued silence, she said, "I am called Shamara."

"You are Guerani," stated Ulfyna needlessly.

"All the personal servants of the gods are Guerani," she told Ulfyna.

Ulfyna hadn't given the servants any thought until now. "Is it because you can anticipate their needs?"

"One cannot anticipate all the needs of the gods."

Ulfyna did not understand why the ignorant people of the grasslands and the hills considered them gods. Perhaps it was because the ancestors of the people living in the palace had developed an advanced culture. Or it was because they had learned the art of controlling the elements.

Ulfyna did not even want to think about the latter because she tried to put Dagmar from her mind.

"How long have you been here, Shamara?"

"Since I was a child, when Queen Rahina came to our village to choose those whose talents were suited for the gods." 

The other woman spoke matter-of-factly, but Ulfyna sensed she was not pleased by her servitude. "I am sorry if I have offended you in any way."

"I am your servant," she reminded Ulfyna. "And you are a god."

Ulfyna laughed. "I am no god! Nor is any other person in this palace. We are all flesh and blood who will one day wither, die and blow away."

Shamara raised a brow. "But you have powers beyond our own."

"You have many powers that I have."

Shamara reached out her hands, and Ulfyna instinctively took them. She was surprised by the power in the Guerani woman, then shocked by what she had learned. Ulfyna quickly pulled her hands away, but she did not look away from Shamara. "What did you learn, my lady?"

"I am Guerani, too." Ulfyna had learned much more that Shamara probably knew also.

"Can I do anything more for you?" asked her Guerani servant.

Ulfyna wrung her hands as if it might help to erase what she had just learned. "Nothing unless you can make me disappear so that I might visit Dagmar."

Shamara rose and left the room, but she returned only a moment later and came directly to Ulfyna. "I know that you cannot leave the room, so I have arranged for you to meet Dagmar in another place that is this room, but is not."

Raising a brow, Ulfyna said, "Please explain further. How is it possible?"

"All Guerani have a bond. Although I am here in the palace, I can see my family at any time. I have asked a friend to help arrange for you to see Lord Dagmaeus." Shamara reached out her hands again. "Place your hands in mine and close your eyes. What you wish, shall be yours."

She hesitated at first, then Ulfyna placed her hands against them. As Shamara closed her fingers around Ulfyna's hands, Ulfyna felt herself being drawn far away. At first she felt dizzy, but soon the disorientation eased and she opened her eyes to find that they were no longer in her room. They were in the hills at the edge of the forest where Ulfyna had grown up alone except for the old woman whose only purpose in her life was to keep her alive.

"Shamara!"

They both turned to the voice that hailed them, and Ulfyna was first amused to see that a handsome young man was approaching. Then she saw Dagmar standing uncertainly behind his Guerani servant. Without any thought to the consequences, she hurried forward and threw herself against him.

To her relief, he folded her in his arms. "I have missed you, Ulfyna."

No words could possibly tell him how much she needed to be with him. "I do not know how we come to be in this place, but I am glad we are here."

Shamara and her young man came to them. "We are not really here, my lady. Our bodies are still in your room. Dagan and Lord Dagmaeus are still in his room, but we can meet here in a trance. Dagan brought Lord Dagmaeus, and you have come with me."

She tightened her arms around Dagmar. "This feels so very real."

Dagmar's personal servant explained. "This is real, Lady Ulfyna. What you experience in here may have consequences in the outside world, so you must be careful."

Shamara grabbed his hand. "Let us leave the gods alone."

The look she gave Dagan told Ulfyna that she really wanted time to alone with him. They hurried away, leaving Ulfyna alone with Dagmar. He took her hand and lead to a tree that had fallen over in a storm. They sat side-by-side, holding hands without saying anything for several minutes. 

Finally, Dagmar spoke. "My mother has explained your sacrifice to me. I know that we cannot be together."

Ulfyna stared down at their joined hands. "I…I have had doubts."

"You promised my mother…"

She looked at his face. "I do not believe that your mother is being honest! She says that you have the power of the gods, and yet…yet I do not feel it when I touch you. It is something different that we do not understand, that we are not meant to understand."

Dagmar winced. "You don't know what you are talking about Ulfyna."

Ulfyna knew that Dagmar loved his mother and would not believe ill of her, but Ulfyna had already discerned that Rahina was lying about her motives. That she had killed Mordraeus, Ulfyna had no doubt, but the reason was not clear to Ulfyna. Before she voiced her suspicions to Dagmar she would be certain she knew everything.

Dagmar caressed her hair. "I have never been so happy in my whole life as I am now."

Tears burned Ulfyna's eyes. They were doomed, and she was sure there was nothing she could do to help them. "I have not been alive until this moment," she responded. Whatever the future would bring, they could have the present.

Shamara opened her eyes, and after a moment of disorientation, she realized she was in her own room. Her mother was at her bedside, a worried frown wrinkling her forehead, which smoothed when she saw that Shamara was awake.

"Are you all right, Shamara?"

A snort from the other side of the bed drew her attention. "I told you it was a trance," said her mother's brother. Apolo leaned down to kiss the top of Shamara's head. "You had your mother and father worried these last two days."

"Two days!" Shamara couldn't remember anything after Master Nazzar had touched her, although the dream she had was quite vivid. "Did Dagan ask about me?"

"Why would he do that?" asked Apolo with a teasing smile.

Shamara frowned at him. "You don't know everything, uncle!" His smirk was infuriating.

"I know a few things you do not." He laid his hand over hers.

Shamara flinched at first, knowing that he was reading her feelings, but then she received an unexpected surprise. It made her smile. "If you are so bothered by Lara's stay on the second moon, perhaps you should tell her so yourself."

Apolo jerked his hand away.

His sister smiled. "Well, well, what has Shamara seen that we have not?"

Shamara shared a laugh with her mother.

Apolo snorted. "She doesn't know how to use her powers!" With one last look of disgust, he walked out.

When their laughter died away, Arora looked directly at Shamara. "Have you been in a trance with Dagan?"

"I was not in a trance. It was a dream."

"You were in a trance, Shamara. I was unsure at first, but now I am convinced. Were you with Dagan? If he is the man you love, then you should tell your father so that we can discontinue this silly matchmaking game of his." She swept out her hand to indicate the many gifts and flowers that were crowding her room. "These are the well-wishes of your many suitors. Prince Dagan did not send any, Shamara. I suspect he has been in the trance with you because he has not been seen since his fight with Avar."

"Oh no, I have forgotten Avar!" Shamara pressed her hands to her cheeks. "I promised Chaela that I would heal him!"

"Your sister was very upset when you did not come out of your trance. She went to Avar to offer her help. As a consequence, they have married."

"Married!" Shamara could not believe what she was hearing. "But…but why did she not wait…"

"Your sister is impulsive and reckless. Avar did not trust her to back out at the last minute, so he begged your father to marry her immediately. How could he refuse? He wanted that business over and done with as well. Only our family and the royal family of Teralon attended the ceremony and your father announced it to the court only this morning. Now you are the only available princess."

Shamara sighed and lay back against her pillows. "I do not wish to leave my room." She could imagine the press of courtiers vying for her attention.

Her mother didn't say anything until Shamara looked at her. "You did not answer my question about Dagan. Shamara, if you have been intimate with Dagan in your trance, it is the same as having done so in this world."

"I know that, mother! And I am telling you that I was not in a trance and I was not with Dagan." At least not that she knew if her dream had been a trance. Did she see herself from the eyes of another? Had she been in the presence of the gods? How would Dagan interpret that?

Arora sighed, the look on her face telling Shamara that she suspected she was lying. "I will tell your father that you are awake. You might try being more honest with him if he asks you questions for which you do not have answers for me."

When her mother had gone, Shamara looked around the room and was glad that she didn't see Taeron. Then she quickly became annoyed because she wanted to leave her room, but she suspected guards stood at her door. Soon enough, however, Taeron walked in.

"So you are awake, princess! I thought I was going to be accused of some mischief when I carried you back here."

"Forget about that! I want to see Prince Dagan."

"There is a line of suitors in the hall waiting for you to emerge. And I have heard that Prince Dagan is ill, so he is not leaving his room. I suspect that now you are conscious, we will be seeing Dagan."

Taeron also believed she had been in a trance. "Well, if I cannot go to him, I want you to deliver a message for me. I want him to meet me in the garden. You can give him a location, and I will meet him there tomorrow night."

"This is not a good idea. The garden is dark and dangerous, and…"

"I might spoil your fun or my brothers'?" Shamara glared at him. "Just deliver the message, and tomorrow night you can worry about the dark and dangerous part."

Shaking his head and sighing, Taeron walked out. She heard him grumbling about how much easier his life would be when he was Amyr's imperial guard. Shamara truly doubted it.


	31. Trynity comes to Calabria

****

Calabrian Space

The many colors of the light spectrum danced and swirled, stretched thin and then widened, creating a sensational display in the darkness. Trynity had observed it many times from a distance and had experienced it twice. She could not believe she was returning to that Calabrian system! No amount of excuses would sway Noin from her decision that Trynity should accompany the heir of the Cinq Kingdom to Calabria. Trynity had even resorted to begging Miliardo Peacecraft, but he gave her very logical reasons for her to go with Zieben. Besides her, only Heero and Relena were familiar with that part of space. Heero could not go because he was governor of three colonies and was now in the process of representing the Cinq Kingdom in the clean up of the Mars Colony. Relena was needed to help govern on L12. Trynity was the only remaining person who could speak the language and had some understanding of the customs.

"I don't think I will ever see anything as amazing as this in space," Trynity heard her father say in awe.

His remark was followed by a moment of silence, which was suddenly broken by Zieben. "Hey, Stryfe, these lights remind me of that hole in the wall dive on Easy Street in New Port City. Remember that one night when you, me and Chaz got wasted and picked up those…"

"Is that the end?" asked Trynity's father with tactful swiftness. He _should_ put an end to that particular discussion since he had been in charge of the young men while they attended the academy. That any of the young men and women who stayed at Seaside had actually completed their education was a miracle in itself. Trynity wondered why Miliardo Peacecraft had put up with his lax control all those years. His being a brilliant scientist could not possibly have had anything to do with it.

The transport glided out of the wormhole smoothly, and after a few moments, the power systems to the craft began to return to normal.

"That was damn good piloting," commented Zieben as he leaned over the pilot.

He was too close and she let him know it. "Get the hell off me, Peacecraft, or you are going to lose the family jewels."

"I suggest you listen to Captain Nelson," remarked Colonel Benton who was lounging in a seat nearby.

Quynn looked over her shoulder at Zieben. 

He quickly moved back. Trynity wondered if they had already had encounters at the academy. Zieben was a good-looking young man, but he suffered from conceit any prince of a powerful kingdom would. His flirtations with Quynn were met with open disgust. Trynity could not imagine her as the wife of the king of the Cinq Kingdom anyway, ant that was the purpose of Zieben's trip. Trynity could not imagine what her daughter was going to make of her life once she left military service. But at her age, Trynity hadn't been decided on what course her future was going to take either. 

"I have to agree with Zieben," commented Trynity. "I've been through that wormhole twice and both were bumpy rides." 

Quynn did not look back at her. "Lord Duo taught me the Calabrian procedure of navigating the wormhole."

Lord Duo! Trynity certainly did not need to be reminded that they were now in his part of space. She would make very clear to him that she had not come chasing after him. 

"Is that Calabria?" asked Stryfe.

"I believe that is Bayman," answered Trynity.

"Mom is right. I'll set a course for Calabria now. We should see it in about an hour. Stryfe, you should send a message announcing our arrival."

Stryfe pulled on headphones and began typing at his console. Trynity watched Bayman disappear as Quynn turned the transport in a new direction. She felt an arm go around her shoulders. Her father meant to comfort her, but Trynity still felt uneasiness when others touched her. After all these weeks and all that had happened, Trynity could not put it behind her. It was as if Quatre had permanently soiled her. She could not even have the closure she needed in watching him go to trial and receive a sentence. He didn't deserve the quick death he had received in space. 

After giving her a quick squeeze, Dr. Stryfe went to a console and turned his attention to studying the space they were passing through. The binary stars were visible, as were the planets that revolved around them. Bayman and Calabria shared a rotational pattern completely opposite each other while other planets were much further away. Trynity wondered which of the two moons near Calabria was considered the second moon. From all that she had heard, the moons were like smaller planets trapped in the gravitational pull of Calabria. Until Trey's reign they had remained unpopulated, but now there were thriving populations of Calabrians on both moons. Trynity would have had trouble believing Duo Maxwell capable of governing diverse people many years ago, but she had seen the respect that even the first princess of the empire showed him.

"Tell me, again, Benton, why are we making this trip?" asked Zieben.

"On the surface, it would be to make a treaty with Calabria," answered Colonel Benton. He was completely bored. His relationship with the Peacecraft family was odd. Although there was nothing immoral about it, Trynity viewed him as an equal partner to Noin and Miliardo. He had certainly helped them through the rough times and stepped in to help raise their children. Trynity was rather surprised that he was making this trip.

"Am I expected to marry one of the emperor's daughters?" Zieben had asked the same question a thousand times before, and Benton had to answer it each time. 

"Not unless you want to," responded Benton for the thousandth time.

Zieben nodded and wandered back toward Quynn.

Trynity took a seat next to Benton. "So why is he making this trip, really?"

Benton glanced at her. "So that Lucrezia and Miliardo can have some time alone without the constant worry about what their son will do next." Then he smiled, telling Trynity that he was joking although she probably thought there was a grain of truth to what he had said. "We are going to make a treaty with Emperor Trey. The king would like his assurances that he will protect the Calabrian side of the wormhole while we protect ours. There are also some tentative trade agreements as well as the setting up of a Cinq Kingdom Embassy."

"An Embassy?"

"I have already accepted the position of Ambassador to Calabria."

Trynity wondered how Noin and Miliardo were going to function without Benton, but she did not ask. Benton seemed to be quite proud of his new role in the Cinq Kingdom. "Congratulations, James. I think you have earned the honor. Was it a choice of your own?"

"I needed a change," he admitted.

"The king could not have chosen a better man to represent his interests in this part of space." Benton was already a model diplomat. He had plenty of practice in the Peacecraft household.

"Thank you, Dr. Nelson." He reached out to touch her hand then seemed to think better of it and withdrew. She was relieved that he understood how she felt. "I am truly sorry that you were forced to come with us, Trynity."

Trynity was saved the necessity of a response by Stryfe's announcement. "We have received a message from Calabria. They want us to land the transport at the Edgeland Fortress where we will be met by representatives of the emperor."

"I was hoping we could go to the second moon," grumbled Quynn. "I have the coordinates for the Edgeland Fortress port."

Trynity wasn't so sure the representative that was going to meet them wasn't going to be Duo Maxwell. She had convinced herself of it, so the remainder of the trip to Calabria, she squirmed with distress. Even the sad humor gleaned from watching Zieben trying to flirt with Quynn could not alleviate her anxiety at seeing Duo again. Although it had been three months, she felt the pain as if it were only yesterday. Quatre had taken everything from her, and he had known exactly what he was doing to leave her helpless and needing anything he would offer her. Is this what he had done to Dorothy to make her stay with him even when he showed her nothing but callous disregard?

Quynn had maneuvered the descent and landing of the transport on Calabria with remarkable ease with little assistance from Stryfe. They had landed on a runway at the Edgeland Fortress. Once Quynn had opened the hatch and let down the steps, she returned to the control panel and began the tedious process of logging a report to be submitted when they returned to L12. Stryfe was eager to see the new planet, so he hopped down the steps first, followed closely by Zieben who was prattling about how much Calabria resembled Earth. Trynity preceded her father and Benton. 

The Wastelands had completely changed, noted Trynity as she looked beyond the airfield to the hills now covered with green. She had known of the change, but comparing what she saw now with her first impression of the Wastelands many years ago, the transformation was nothing short of miraculous. The desert had completely vanished to be replaced with verdant meadows and glistening streams. In the distance she could see a shimmering lake.

"Holy smokes! There are two suns!" Zieben was completely taken aback although Trynity had already informed him of what to expect. Benton exchanged an amused glance with Trynity before turning his attention to an approaching group mounted on horseback. Trynity's heart hammered as she imagined Duo would be part of the group, but as they approached, she realized that he was not. She did not recognize the young man leading the group, but she guessed who he was by the time they had arrived and he dismounted. She noted that Taeron was accompanying the young man, and he flashed her an encouraging smile before leaning close to the other to murmur something.

He stepped forward with his hand extended. "Welcome to Calabria. I am Amyr, son of Trey. My men and I are to escort you to the imperial palace."

Dr. Stryfe moved forward to take his hand. "You speak our language very well."

The handsome young prince smiled at him. "My father insisted that we learn." He turned his attention to Trynity. "Taeron tells me that you are Dr. Nelson. You have saved my sister's life and also the life of my beloved uncle as well as Lord Duo. You are especially welcome to Calabria."

She took his hand, and she debated jerking it away when the charming young man began to raise it to his lips. His dark amber eyes soaked her in with a single glance, and she instinctively knew that Prince Amyr was probably used to getting what he wanted. He certainly was a handsome young man who probably had many women at his feet. 

Suddenly he dropped her hand as he looked past Trynity.

"You! What are you doing back here?"

His face was anything but charming now as Quynn stomped down the steps from the transport. "Believe me, I wish I weren't here! But I got orders to pilot the transport. Just back off, Amyr!" She shoved past him to hug Taeron. "Nice to see you again, brother. You aren't baby-sitting Prince Amyr now, are you? Because if you are, I suspect that he'll keep you busier than his sister."

Taeron snorted with laughter. "I am not baby-sitting Amyr. I will be the imperial guard of Princess Shamara until she takes a husband, but I asked to accompany him so I could welcome you and Stryfe."

"I am surprised she is not already married to Prince Dagan," commented Dr. Stryfe.

"Prince Dagan has rejected my sister," Amyr told him.

"Humph!" Dr. Stryfe rubbed his chin. "I thought those two were in love."

His predictions on relationships were rather consistent, thought Trynity wryly.

"A ground transport should be arriving soon," said Amyr. "You will be spending the day at the Wasteland Palace before I take you to the imperial city tomorrow."

Trynity expected no less. The Calabrians had been subjected to rigorous medical testing before they were allowed into the general public on L12. Although their health had been thoroughly tested before leaving the solar system, the group from the Cinq Kingdom could not be too careful when encountering new people.

As they awaited the transport, Trynity made introductions. Amyr was very polite and seemed to take an instant liking to Stryfe and Zieben. He had much in common with the Peacecraft heir, and Trynity suspected they all had their number one pastime in common: the pursuit of women. The transport soon arrived, and the other men took that horses that Taeron and Amyr had ridden out to greet them as the prince and Taeron boarded with the Cinq Kingdom delegation. The transport was a hovercraft, which moved swiftly over the land. There hadn't been vehicles like this on Calabria when Trynity had been here last.

Trynity was sitting by a window looking out when Taeron joined her. "I am sorry, Dr. Nelson, that my father could not be here to greet you. Lord Duo cannot leave the second moon at this time."

She looked at Taeron. "I was not expecting him to greet me, Taeron. We said all that we have to say to each other the last time we spoke."

Taeron stared at her silently for a moment, then said, "I hope you will give him a chance, Dr. Nelson. He deserves to be happy." He stood. "And so do you."

He crossed the transport to sit by Stryfe. Trynity was glad Duo's sons could get along after what Stryfe had tried to do him. Taeron seemed to understand Stryfe's rational although Trynity still wondered why her son tried to meddle in Duo and Taeron's relationship. She glanced at Quynn and saw that she was pointedly ignoring Amyr who watched her with extreme annoyance. Quynn had obviously grossly insulted the crowned prince of Calabria, and he had no intention of forgiving her. Then again, Quynn seemed to dislike Amyr. Their personalities were abrasive. Much like hers and Duo's had been so many years ago.

They arrived at the Wasteland Palace shortly after the setting of the first sun. When Apolo came into the courtyard to greet them, Quynn hurried to hug him, and she quickly introduced everyone, ending with Trynity.

"Surely you remember my mother."

Apolo smiled and reached out for her hands, but Trynity wasn't about to let the Guerani touch her. He didn't seem to be offended although Benton frowned at Trynity. "My dear Trynity, I am so happy to see you again. Welcome to my home. Might I say you are every bit as beautiful as you were some years ago, possibly even more beautiful."

"You are still a charmer, Lord Apolo," she remarked. And he hadn't seemed to age at all. "I have heard that you have not been ensnared by one woman."

Trynity expected an amusing rejoinder from Apolo about how he couldn't deprive other women, but he frowned and snapped, "Absolutely not! I have no need." Almost instantly he realized that he had drawn attention to himself because in addition to Trynity's raised brows, both Taeron and Amyr looked at him curiously. Apolo's face turned red, and he quickly said, "You must be tired from your journey."

"I'm not," spoke up Quynn.

"You should rest anyway!" Amyr glared at Quynn. "My uncle is showing his hospitality."

"You don't need to lecture me!" Quynn glared back at him. "I'm not tired from my journey and I'm not about to hide in a room."

Apolo chuckled and slipped an arm around Quynn's shoulders. "No one is asking you to hide, Quynn. I thought you might be tired from the trip, but if you are not, you are free to do as you please."

"I'm not tired either," announced Zieben. "I'll keep Quynn company."

Amyr grunted. "I am not surprised."

"Well, I, for one am looking forward to some rest. How about you, father?" Trynity looked at her father.

"I was hoping to study the patterns of the suns and moons," he grumbled.

Benton glanced at Trynity. They seemed to be the only polite people in the group. Stryfe's attention had been captured by a group of giggling females hiding amongst bushes watching the newcomers, so he wasn't listening at all.

Apolo seemed to be amused by their diverse and somewhat bizarre behavior. "I do enjoy humans." Trynity did not think they were a good representation of their people. "Amyr and Taeron, please show Quynn and Stryfe to their rooms. I will escort Prince Zieben and Ambassador Benton as well as Lady Trynity and Dr. Stryfe."

"I'm not Lady Trynity," Trynity corrected Apolo as they walked into the palace.

"You should be," muttered her father under her breath. She tried to ignore him. He would never get over his disappointment over her disastrous relationship with Duo Maxwell. She was suspecting he wanted to Duo to be the son he never had. He and Lars had been on friendly terms, but Trynity knew that deep inside her father didn't approve of her marriage to him. As usual she proved him wrong and had a wonderful marriage.

Apolo smiled at her. "I will try to remember to correctly address you."

"You may call me Dr. Nelson." She felt safer reminding him that she wasn't Duo's woman.

"If that is your wish, Dr. Nelson." He left Zieben and Benton at their own rooms, then showed her father to an observatory which he explained Lady Virineia often used when she visited the palace with her own studies of space. When they arrived at a suite for Trynity, Apolo wasted several minutes pointing out the amenities before she realized that he didn't want to leave. Although she didn't want to have a personal conversation with Apolo, she now felt she had no choice.

After he showed her the view from her window for the third time, she finally said, "What is it that you want, Apolo?"

He sat on a comfortable padded bench and patted the place beside him. Trynity ignored his invitation. Apolo sighed. "I had hoped that we could discuss Duo."

"There is nothing to discuss."

He ignored her. "He did not say anything when he returned from Mars Colony. I had assumed that he would bring back a wife."

"We were not meant to be together."

"I am quite sure the gods have an ultimate plan to unite you and Duo. You should not fight their will."

Trynity clenched her fists at her side. "The gods have kept us apart! I do not fight their will! This _is_ their will!" She needed nothing more than to hear about the will of these gods to infuriate her. Despite everything that had happened to Duo that seemed to point to the gods' rejection of him, he still had the foolishness to believe in them. If Trynity were to believe in them, she would have to accept that they did not want her happiness. She could never be happy again.

"Can you honestly tell me that you do not care for Duo?" asked Apolo. He held out a hand.

She grasped her own hands and held them back. "Please leave me alone, Apolo. I hope you are not going to contact Duo to urge him to run here to me because it would be a waste of his time."

"I could not do that, anyway. He is obligated to stay on the second moon to deal with a problem concerning religious fanatics. I do not even think he realizes you are here because the discord on the moon is keeping him busy." He came near, but did not touch her, although she sensed he desperately wanted to read her feelings through his hands. "If you need me, Trynity, I will be here to help you."

When he had gone, Trynity walked out onto the terrace overlooking a garden and she watched the second sun set and the appearance of the first moon. She was glad that Duo did not know she was there because she did not want to face him again. She hoped this mission would be over before he could tear himself away from his duties. But as she sat in the dark, watching the second moon appear over the horizon, she felt a familiar ache in her chest as she wondered what he was doing. Trynity could not help but worry for his safety. If he could not even leave the moon, the insurrection was a serious matter, and she hoped he would remain safe.

She had been sitting in the moonlight for a long time alone before she heard voices below in the garden.

"I don't need you to stroll around the garden with me. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Quynn sounded thoroughly annoyed. Trynity guessed she was addressing either Zieben or Amyr.

Her second guess was correct. "You don't have the slightest clue what trouble you could get into stumbling around in the dark."

"I was not stumbling! I just didn't see that rock in the path. It must have fallen out of your ear."

"You are an impossible female!"

"And I've seen apes in the zoo who can put your manners to shame, Amyr."

"I am _Prince_ Amyr."

"So I've heard, but I have yet to get any proof. Now get the hell out of my way _Prince_ Amyr or I'll have to shove this rock back in your head." There was a moment of silence before Trynity heard footsteps and she guessed that Quynn had left. She was glad that her daughter could hold her own. Prince Amyr was getting off easy.

"Pumpkin, are you out here?"

Sighing, she turned to see her father approaching. "Did you collect enough data?"

Dr. Stryfe sat on the bench near her. "This entire system is most intriguing. I am eager to see the results of Virineia's research."

"You knew her pretty well?" asked Trynity curiously.

Her father nodded. "She was your mother's best friend. We were very saddened to learn of her disappearance in space, so I am glad to have the chance to see her again. Your mother would have been amazed to learn what became of Virineia. Virineia had been quiet and meek, and no one paid any attention to her, except your mother. That she is the mother of an emperor in another planetary system is quite astonishing. I am eager to see her again." He looked up at the sky. "Apolo tells me the larger of the moons is considered the second moon."

"They seem to be more like planets, unlike many of the moons in our solar system," commented Trynity. She hoped her father wasn't going to direct the discussion toward Duo Maxwell.

"Apolo also tells me that Maxwell cannot come down to the planet. You are going to have to go to him."

"Father!" Trynity curled her fingers into fists. Once she should just pop him in the nose! "I have no intention of throwing myself at his feet."

"I wasn't expecting you to do that, Trynity, but you are going to have to tell him about the baby. I don't think the wormhole is going to close because it has stabilized, and you can't possibly believe that Duo is going to give up on you so easily." Although she stiffened, he took her shoulders in his hands and turned her to face him. "Trynity, you have to trust him. You can't let what Quatre Winner did to you destroy your only chance for happiness."

She shoved his hands off. "You don't understand, father!"

"If you don't tell him about the baby, Trynity, you will lose him, and despite what you are feeling now, one day you will wish he were with you."

Trynity covered her face with her hands. "The baby might not even be his!" She couldn't stand for her father to see how ashamed she was to even admit it.

He took her hands and gently pulled them back. "He loves you, Trynity. You must trust him. Do I need to remind you of the result of your mistrust eighteen years ago?"

She jerked her hands away from. "No! Now leave me alone! I don't need to hear your lectures!"

Grunting, he stood. "Someone has to tell you what you don't want to hear. Might as well be me."

That night she could not sleep. The unfamiliar bed had nothing to do with it, but the light from the second moon shining through her window certainly did. She tried not to think of Duo, but she filled her night with worries that he might be in danger coupled with worries that she would have to face him. Trynity did not want to admit that her father was right, for once. She had an obligation to tell him about the baby although she was thoroughly convinced from her own lousy luck in life that it was Quatre's. Trynity didn't know how to feel about it. For so many years she had wanted more children and could not have any, and now that there was one growing inside her, she wasn't sure she wanted it. If it was the result of what Quatre had done to her, how would she feel toward her son or daughter. On the other hand, if the baby were Duo's, she would be forced to see Duo on a regular basis and that might be too painful for her to bear. What little sleep she did have was disturbed by a nightmare of Duo taking the baby away because he considered her unfit to raise it.

The following morning she awoke late from her restless sleep, and a servant was waiting to attend her every need. She told Trynity that Lord Apolo was waiting to take the morning meal with her although the others had gone out to see the surrounding area before their trip to the Imperial City. Although she didn't want to subject herself to Apolo's meddling; she did have something to discuss with him.

He was waiting for her in the garden and she was glad to see that there was bread and fruit instead of the usual Calabrian food. Trynity was starting to feel sick in the morning and didn't think she would be able to stomach the sight of boiled worms or glazed beetles no matter how much healthier they might be for her.

"You did not sleep well," he observed as she sat near him.

"Do you read minds now?" she asked. She took a chunk of bread and smeared it with honey.

Apolo chuckled. "No, Dr. Nelson, I am simply commenting on the obvious. There are dark circles under your eyes which are quite red themselves, both signs that you spent a miserable night. If you would let me, I could help you, Trynity."

"I don't need your Guerani healing," she snapped.

He smiled. "I wasn't really talking about that, Trynity. I have my own brand of healing that women simply cannot resist."

Trynity frowned at him. "Last night you were Duo's champion and this morning you are his rival? Do you think of only one thing, Apolo, your pleasure?"

"I was thinking about yours, too." He sighed. "I suppose I'll have to find another way to pass the time before Amyr and Taeron return with the rest of our guests."

"So I would just be a way of passing the time?"

"A very pleasant way of passing the time."

Trynity couldn't help but laugh. "Now I know why you don't have a wife."

"I don't need a wife." She sensed he was bothered by her comment although he managed to control his emotions better today than yesterday. Trynity wondered if some woman had gotten under the skin of the gods' gift to women.

She decided to steer the conversation to safer grounds. "While Shamara was with me on Mars Colony, she was a great help in healing some of my more needy patients. She told me that you taught her how to use her healing ability."

"Shamara's healing abilities are not very strong. I think the gods have another purpose for her."

"Do you believe it would be impossible for me to learn to heal people as you and Shamara do?" Before he could have a chance to answer, she rushed on. "I have studied the physiological elements of the healing power Shamara has exhibited, and if I had a chance to study yours, perhaps I could find a way to tap the potential that I might have to heal through touch."

Apolo laughed softly, but he wasn't mocking her. "I can see that you are in earnest, Trynity, and you already have one element that is most important in healing: your desire to help others despite the harm that comes to you."

"I have not suffered any harm from practicing medicine," she told him with a frown.

"But you have, Trynity. How can you not feel something when faced with the suffering of others? Can you walk away from those you cannot help without remembering them?"

"I was taught in my studies that I must ignore them in order to work on them most efficiently," she admitted. "But I regret all those I could not help."

"Our healing is not perfect either, Trynity. If the gods wish to call someone to them, we have no choice but to let them answer the call." He leaned closer to her. "I suspect that you do not have the second element required for our healing."

"If you are talking about Guerani blood…."

"No, I am talking about faith in the gods."

"What does faith have to do with it?" Trynity was annoyed to be steered back in this direction. Before she could guess his intention, Apolo reached out to seize her hands, and although he tried to hold them, she jerked them away. "Why did you do that?" She stumbled away from the table, her heart pounding erratically from the brief touch. "How dare you invade my privacy like that?"

Apolo stood, and she had to look away from his compassionate expression. She didn't want his pity! "I am sorry, Trynity. I wanted to know why you are so angered with the gods."

"There are no gods! There are good choices and bad choices, and every choice I have made, every choice anyone I have cared has made, have been bad choices." Trynity fought tears that were forming in her eyes. "You want me to believe in gods who have made me suffer in one way or another for my entire life?"

"You have to believe that in the end they will bring you joy."

She clenched her hands into fists at her side. "Are you telling me that you will not teach me to heal?"

He shook his head. "I will do all that I can, Trynity, but in the end it will be up to you to recognize what the gods need from you."

At least her lack of religious conviction did not prevent him from agreeing to help her learn. She was relieved. "Where did you get your skill?"

"It is innate, but I did not recognize it for many years. I felt it most strongly when Shamara was born. That is the first time I used it, and then I realized that I had the gift. When I held her lifeless body in my hands, I felt the power flow through me. I actually felt somewhat helpless to control it at that time."

"Fortunately for Shamara, you were there when she was born."

"The gods have a plan for her. I do not believe she was meant to be a healer."

"There was reference to Shamara in the ancient Guerani texts, including those copied by Elder Hardane in the cave on Mars Colony," said Trynity. She didn't believe in their religious myths, but Apolo did so deeply.

"I was dismayed to learn of their loss in the fire. We may have been able to learn more of the tale of Camrin, Dagmar and Ulfyna. The followers of Camridaeus are certainly convinced of his imminent return. In fact, it is those followers who are giving Duo trouble on the moon. They have recently stirred discord amongst the tribes lead by a person recently arrived from space. We believe he came from Bayman because the cult of Camridaeus is more prominent there, but he could be from anywhere in our system. Since Trey announced that any man could have Shamara, we have seen many new people on Calabria."

Later in the day when they arrived at the Imperial City, Trynity was amazed by the different species of beings that milled around in the marketplace in the shadow of the palace. They all had many human features in common, but each had developed differently to set them apart. Apolo pointed out Teralonians, a few of which had taken his adopted daughters as wives. They had the ability to fly with wings that would emerge upon will. The Varoonyans had a keen sense of hearing and sight that distinguished them as the hunters of the galaxy. There were so many, small and tall, each looking slightly different from another that Trynity lost track of the names and the planets from which they had come.

Upon arriving at the palace, the delegation from the Cinq Kingdom was immediately shown to the private quarters of the imperial first family where Arora warmly greeted them. She officially welcomed Benton and made a comment to Zieben about his chances at winning Shamara's heart – Trynity didn't think Zieben looked interested until the aforementioned princess entered the room. Shamara seemed annoyed by Zieben's interest, but the Peacecraft heir persisted in paying her flowery comments that Trynity was sure Shamara had already heard from the many handsome young men already vying for her hand in marriage. Arora did not touch Trynity when she greeted her although she gave Dr. Stryfe a hug and told him she had a surprise for him. From another room stepped Lady Virineia, and the two elders quickly embraced and began to talk scientific gibberish. Trynity met the trouble-making Chaela and her new husband, the latter blatantly protective of his new wife. Each of Trey and Arora's other children stepped forward to be introduced except for the infant that was sleeping in a cradle across the room basking in the late afternoon sun. 

After a brief meal, Amyr offered to show Taeron, Zieben and Stryfe around with Apolo offering to go along. Taeron declined when Shamara glared at him and her brother then taking Quynn's arm, the three left with Taeron shaking his head like a long-suffering slave. Arora was outright amused and laughed when they had gone.

"Shamara was very angry that Taeron accompanied Amyr to the Wastelands because she had plans to visit Dagan and needed his assistance. Trey and I put a stop to that with your timely arrival."

Lady Virineia stood with Dr. Stryfe beside her. "Ivan and I are going to my observatory. We shall join you later."

Trynity noted that her father seemed to be blushing and she wondered what part of space they planned to observe.

They left the table at which they had been served traditional human food although Trynity doubted pizza was served to visiting diplomats at the Cinq Kingdom palace. She also wondered what was on the pizza hiding under the cheese that didn't seem to bother Taeron who ate enough to clearly mark him as his father's son. Trynity didn't want to think about it.

There was a comfortable sofa near the window where they could watch the setting sun while Arora fed her youngest child. For several minutes they said nothing as Arora hummed and the baby nursed, then Arora stopped to burp the infant girl.

"She is very beautiful," commented Trynity as she wondered if her baby would be a boy or a girl and who it might resemble. She was so afraid that it would be blond and blue-eyed, a constant reminder of Quatre Raberba Winner that she didn't even want to think about it.

Arora smiled. "I have yet to determine if female children are more trouble than male. A year ago I could have told you, but after the nasty business between Chaela and Shamara and our son's lack of self-control and unwillingness to accept responsibilities, I no longer know. How do you feel? I have not known Stryfe and Quynn for long, but I have heard so much about them from Shamara and Duo that I feel I already know them. You should be very proud of how they have grown into worthy adults."

"Worthy? Worthy of Lord Duo, you mean? Will everyone who sees them today know that they are the children of the legendary governor of the second moon?" Trynity was annoyed by Arora's choice of words.

"I meant that they are worthy of you, Trynity."

Trynity pushed away from the couch and walked to the window to watch the sun sink in the horizon, wringing her hands before her as she did. "Duo told you what happened, didn't he?"

"Duo did not tell us why you did not return with him. At the time we just glad to have our daughter back and to get Duo back to the moon. I don't know what he told Trey, but Trey hasn't confided in me." Trynity could hear Arora putting the cooing baby back in the cradle nearby, and then she felt her presence behind her. "Is there something you wish to tell me, Trynity? Did…did Duo harm you?"

Trynity shook her head. "He would never harm me. I just don't think we can be together after all these years." She turned around to look at Arora. "You must have known that I was carrying Stryfe and Quynn, yet you did not tell him."

"What good would it have done to tell him? He was already suffering because you were lost to him. I don't think he could have lived knowing about the children that he would never see."

Arora's gaze was kind and caring, and Trynity felt her insides crumbling. These people loved Duo and had made him part of their family, and Trynity knew she could trust Arora. She reached out a trembling hand to Arora, who hesitated, then took first it, then the other and drew her back down to the couch. Trynity didn't feel anything at first, and then she felt soothing warmth.

"I do not have the powers of my father," she told Trynity softly, "or I would allow you to forget your horrible memories. I can only offer my sympathy and understanding." She drew Trynity to her, and Trynity allowed herself to cry. If anyone could understand how she might feel, it would be Arora who had been so horribly mistreated most of her life. As Arora stroked her hair and patted her back, Trynity started to feel the stirring of hope inside her. Despite all that happened to her, Arora had survived and found happiness. Trynity dared to wonder if she could too.

Although Arora had surely divined all that had happened by her touch, Trynity told her, even about her darkest fears that Duo might not believe she had brought it on herself. He had even asked her outright if she had been sleeping with Quatre and he had not waited for an answer. Then again, Trynity hadn't given him one, and she didn't know why she hadn't denied it. 

The door opened and Trey walked in followed by two guards who quickly left him once they were assured his safety. Arora went to him and greeted him with a hug and kiss, then led him to Trynity. She came around the couch and was surprised that when he drew her into his arms, she didn't feel the usual tensing of her body against the intimacy. She hugged him back, glad that she could stand the touch of another once again.

Trey held her back at arms' length. "Miss Stryfe, you haven't changed much, but where you have, it's for the better."

On the other hand, Trey had changed. His mature features were more like his father although he did not have the hard lines that marked Zeno's face. Trey had the aura of a powerful emperor. Trynity guessed that lawless radicals feared him and his loyal subjects, of whom, she already knew, there were many.

He turned to look at Arora. "Is there any pizza left?"

"It is cold," she told him with a sigh.

Trey rubbed his hands together. "Just how I like it." He looked at Trynity. "Would you care to join me, Trynity? I seem to recall a few times sharing a cold pizza with you in the morning."

She followed him to the table. "I don't have much of an appetite for it now. Besides, once I did eat, I began to wonder why Taeron liked it so much."

Arora laughed. "I'm glad you didn't ask. I have no intention of telling you now. Suffice to say, we have to make the meals palatable for both humans and Calabrians."

Grabbing a slice of pizza, Trey sat back in his chair and put his booted feet on the table. "So what do you think of Taeron?"

"Trey!" scolded Arora with a hiss.

He shrugged. "I just thought she should have a measure of what Duo got when he found himself on L12. I could understand why you didn't tell Duo about your pregnancy when you were here on Calabria, although I thought you were afraid he would become over-concerned and send you back to the pirate satellite. I never once thought he would reject you."

"I've been paid back in spades for my distrust," Trynity said with annoyance. 

Trey continued after munching on a big bite of pizza. "But I didn't understand why you allowed Duo to think Stryfe and Quynn where Lars' children. You could have saved both him and Taeron some heartache if you had just been up front with him."

"That is in the past," said Arora with a warning look at her husband. "Duo and Taeron have a good relationship now."

"We should have told Duo long ago so that he could have raised Taeron, but after weighing the pros and the cons we decided he wouldn't be able to handle it. I feel guilty that we deprived Taeron of a father." Trey took another slice of pizza. "Are you planning to visit Duo or are you going to do your duty to the Cinq Kingdom and run back to L12 or where ever else you plan on hiding yourself?"

Trynity was finding his censure difficult to bear after her heart to heart conversation with Arora. "I wasn't planning to hide myself."

He paused in chewing. "I've already had an audience with Benton and Zieben. Benton told me you did not come to Calabria willingly. Is this your chance to get some revenge against Duo?"

"Of course not!"

"Good, because I won't let you hurt him again."

"Hurt _him_!" How did she become the villain? "I had no intention of hurting him! _He_ left _me_! I went to tell him about the baby only minutes after he bailed out in that escape pod. Part of me wondered if he had guessed about my condition."

"Oh ye of little faith." Trey reached for another slice of pizza. "My dear, give my compliments to the chef of this meal. Did he actually manage to hide wilderberry grubs in this?"

Trynity's stomach began to churn and she had to swallow back the gorge that was rising in her throat. "I…I realize that fear was false." She watched Trey lift the cold cheese to look beneath. The sight of the cheese, opaque and stiff was enough to make her feel faint, but when he pulled out something long and stringy to pop in his mouth, she couldn't hold back any more. Fortunately Arora anticipated her and rushed to grab a near empty bowl, which contained a leafy salad. 

"I was planning to have some of that," remarked Trey when Trynity had finished vomiting. "I don't think Calabria agrees with you, Trynity."

She didn't respond at first as she accepted a glass of water from Arora and she drank it. Arora glared at Trey and Trynity guessed she was going to tell her husband later anyway, so she said, "I am expecting another child."

The pizza dropped from Trey's hand and he looked to Arora who nodded confirmation. "Then congratulations are in order. This is quite the busy year for Duo."

"Trey!" Arora was clearly upset with her husband now. Trynity already guessed what he was referring to before he clarified.

"Apolo tells us that Larya is pregnant. Before the wormhole opened I had considered forcing Duo to marry her anyway. Now with you here, I am quite curious about what he is going to do."

"I need to lay down," said Trynity. She felt tired and ill, and although she had vomited most of the meal from her stomach, it still rebelled against the possibility that she had eaten slugs, worms and beetles. "I hope that you aren't going to call Duo away from his duties so that he can come running to me." Trynity spoke through gritted teeth. "The baby probably isn't his anyway, and I am not ready to see him yet."

"He's too busy to cater to you. I'm not about to drag him away from his duties so that he can dance attendance on you."

Arora called for one of the children to show Trynity to a room and the son she remembered was Staefyn appeared. Trynity could hear Arora laying in to Trey even before they were a few feet into the hallway leading away from the dining area.

"How could you be so mean-spirited? And what is this business with Larya? You know exactly what is going on!"

Trynity was glad when she couldn't hear any more. She thanked their son then laid down on the comfortable bed in the darkening room. Somehow she would get through this trip to Calabria with her dignity intact.

"I was told you had some important message for me." Duo was annoyed to be called back to the governor's palace for a call from the emperor, and now Trey was grinning at him like a fool.

"This news is important."

Duo sighed. "I've spent the last month trying to hunt down the rebel leader. Most of the tribes will not give him shelter, so we have managed to get peace over about three quarters of the moon."

"I'm glad." His tone told Duo that Trey had other things on his mind. "Now, listen. I have received a delegation from the Cinq Kingdom today."

Duo was surprised. "That is why you have called me back here? You could have told me about that after I captured that bastard and made an example of him."

"I'm not finished. Benton has been assigned as ambassador to Calabria, and Zieben accompanied him. I believe he is strolling in the garden with Shamara now."

"If he thinks he can win her hand, he will be disappointed that she is already in love with Dagan." Duo thought Trey's announcement that any man could try to win the heart of his daughter was quite ridiculous and told him so.

"None of these men may get my daughter," he said with chuckle, "but I have already presided over a half-dozen treaties resulting in the marriages of princes to other females. My palace reminds me of the Love Boat that I used to watch late nights at Seaside." Trey burst into laughter.

Duo was glad Trey could find a way to amuse himself. "Is that all you wanted to tell me, that you enjoy bringing bad late-night telecom programs into your palace in real life."

Trey managed to control his laughter and waved his hand. "No, of course not. I wanted you to know that Stryfe and Quynn are here, as well as their grandfather."

"I am not sure I can get away to see them." Duo had a competent advisor who controlled affairs at the palace while he was in the field, but he did not want to leave the moon without its leader. The tribal chiefs looked to him for stability because he maintained the peace between them. Amyr had proved that he was too inexperienced to control such diverse people, and he had made the mistake of trying to seduce the daughter of one of the staunch Zenoites who had left Calabria rather than remain under Trey's direct rule. No matter how much he wanted to see his son and daughter and get news of their mother, he could not leave the moon. He also wasn't even sure that he would have time to see them if they came to him.

"I didn't call to tell you about them. Trynity Stryfe Nelson is sleeping under my roof!"

"Trynity is there?" Duo couldn't believe it! He was sure Trynity would need a lot more time to heal and find some inner peace after what had happened to her. Duo understood that need and was now perplexed that she had already come to him.

"Benton told me that Noin and Miliardo threatened her into accompanying them. Trynity really had no choice although she did try to get out of it."

"She didn't come here to see me." Duo was not upset by that realization. "In fact, I don't think she wants to see me yet, Trey, and I am going to respect that wish. Thank you for telling me but…"

"I'm not finished. She'd kill me if she knew I told you, but I can't, in good conscience, keep silent this time. The lovely Dr. Nelson is pregnant."

Duo stared at him incredulously. "How could you tell me such a thing?"

"It's true! She admitted it herself, but she says the baby probably isn't yours. What does she mean by that? Are you sure you want her back?"

Duo hadn't told Trey why he didn't bring Trynity back. He told him about the trouble with Quatre, but he left out what had happened to Trynity. "The baby is mine, Trey, despite what she says."

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened on Mars Colony?" asked Trey with obvious concern.

"Maybe some day, but not right now. I'm not coming down to the planet. If Trynity wants to see me, she can visit me here, but I don't want her to do something she's not comfortable with, and I hope that you treat her with respect. Don't think for a moment that our separation is her fault, Trey. I have every confidence that we will one day be together. It may just take longer than I had first imagined."

"I hope it doesn't take too long. I'd like to see our children play together some day, Duo."

Duo didn't respond before ending the communication. He sat down on the chair behind his desk and rubbed his temples. Although he was annoyed to be called back to the palace for this news, he was glad to postpone his search for the rebel leader. He had spent weeks just a few hours behind the man who stopped in villages long enough to spout Camridaen scripture and point to the signs of the return of Camridaeus. Then he would leave when he had the people riled to the point of violence or sobbing in misery in the face of the end of the world.

The door opened to reveal his advisor, Orhan. Orhan was a Calabrian who had been an assistant to Duo's previous advisor. When the older man suddenly died one day while Amyr was in charge and Duo was on Mars Colony, Orhan stepped in to competently fill the position left vacant. He had done such an admirable job that Duo saw no reason to choose a different successor.

"My lord, there is a visitor."

"I don't need to be announced." Larya pushed past him, then turned to glare at Orhan. The young man bowed his head and backed out. Her own guards followed him. She turned to look at Duo. "I don't like that toadying creature. Where did you get him?"

"He has been here for several years and has earned his promotion."

"I don't trust him. He'll be the first to go when I move in here." She looked around the room as if determining what would be next.

Duo frowned at her. "I am not going to marry you, Larya."

"I'm not going to give you a choice in the matter. Do you think I want to marry you? No! Do you think I care what you want? No!" She put her hand on her belly, which was swelling with her condition. "This child is going to have an acknowledged father. I'm not going to wait until she is an adult this time."

"I am not her father."

"You and I know that. Her father refuses to believe it."

Duo raised a brow. "Why would Apolo deny it? Surely he has ways of knowing the truth."

She sat on the edge of his desk. "He claims that he cannot know such a thing until the child is born. He also doesn't believe we haven't been together since Taeron was conceived."

Duo drummed his fingers on the desk. "Apolo did catch us in a rather compromising situation."

"I give thanks to the gods every day that he kept us from doing something foolish." She sighed, and Duo thought he saw tears in her eyes. Tears in Larya's eyes!? "I love him," she admitted. "I thought such a feeling was foolish until I felt it myself. And for a while I thought he loved me too, but when I told him about the child, he rejected us both. He hasn't spoken to me in a month. He claimed that I was using him because I couldn't get you now that you have the opportunity to have the woman you love."

"That is ridiculous!" Duo was annoyed to be dragged into this mess. But when he had allowed Larya to seduce him many years ago, he had tied their houses forever. If he had known Taeron was his son, he probably would have married Larya back then, but now he certainly had no intention of doing so. "I will talk to Apolo myself and explain the situation."

"He won't believe a word you say! He'll think you are lying to cover for me and to protect your precious healer's feelings."

"You have already discussed this with him?" Duo suspected she had.

"I've tried everything to convince him!" Larya wiped away a tear. "I have no one else to turn to, Duo."

He reached out to take her hand. "I'll do what I can to help you, Larya, but my time is limited these days. Do you think this visit to me is wise? If he is as jealous as I suspect, he isn't going to like discovering you are here with me. It may reinforce his suspicions."

"I don't care! He deserves to suspect everything his sordid mind can. If I can forget the countless women he has been with in the past, why can't he forgive me for something that did not even happen?"

Duo reached up to wipe her tears with the back of his hand. "Love can be quite irrational, Larya. I think he is in love with you too, but for the gods' gift to women, it is a frightening new feeling."

"I am frightened too," she sobbed. "I am frightened of being denied happiness, of being alone for the rest of my life. I am afraid that the ambitious choices I made in the past will haunt me until the day I die old and lonely."

Duo pulled her onto his lap and enfolded her in his arms. As she laid her head on his shoulder, he stroked her silky hair. "I know exactly how you feel, Larya. I think before this is all over, you and I will both get what we need."

"You have such confidence in the gods," murmured Larya.

"What more do we have, Larya? We both tried to defy them and look where it has landed us. Despite it, they have not given up on us. I have another chance with Trynity, and you have found Apolo. Together we have Taeron who is too good a son for either of us to deserve."

"You are right. I think this baby is affecting me strangely. Is it because it is a female? I don't remember feeling so vulnerable when Taeron was inside me. Perhaps it is because she is Guerani!"

Larya continued to prattle about her hopes and fears, but Duo did little more than grunt a response when she wanted one. His mind turned to Trynity who was now on Calabria. She was so close, and yet she might as well be on the other side of the closed wormhole. Duo's heart still ached when he thought of the last time that he saw her and the shamed misery that he had read in her eyes. Trynity would never believe Duo could help her get through the trauma she had suffered. Although Trynity had mocked his sense of honor, now she was afraid that he would reject her because of it. Now she was pregnant and no doubt tormented by the possibility that Quatre was the child's father. Duo didn't care who the father was. He could and would love anything that was a part of Trynity, just as Lars had loved his children. He hoped that Trynity would give him a chance.


	32. The prince wins Shamara's heart

****

Imperial Palace, Calabria

For the first time in several days, Dagan awoke without a throbbing headache that sent him straight back to sleep. Master Nazzar was sitting beside the bed, his fingers forming a steeple as he wordlessly chanted in a language Dagan did not understand. When he lifted himself from the bed, Nazzar stopped and hurried away to pour him a glass of water. Vanig, standing by the door, stepped forward.

"Are you feeling better today, your highness?"

Dagan saw that the captain of his guards was worried. "I…I think I am." He took the glass from Nazzar and quickly drained it. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Long enough for the moons to rise six times, your highness."

Dagan couldn't remember anything during that time except occasionally getting up to pace a bit, sometimes eating. The last coherent memory he had was opening the door to his room and finding Shamara holding a tray of edible food. Yet it hadn't been Shamara because the woman who spoke, did so in a strange language, and stranger yet, before his very eyes her hair had become golden and her eyes blue. Dagan heard himself ordering her to go away, which she did not want to do, and then Nazzar led her out. Dagan remembered feeling helpless and melancholy after she had gone until Nazzar had returned to the room, told him that he was feeling tired, then led him to the bed where he had remained these last days. If anyone understood what was happening, it was Master Nazzar.

"Vanig, I am still feeling tired. Would you please have a servant bring me food, and find out some news about Princess Shamara." Dagan wondered what she had been doing while he was debilitated in his room.

The captain of the Bayman dragoons bowed then hurried out. Dagan turned his attention to Nazzar who stood by watching him without speaking. "Do you have some explanation?"

Nazzar shrugged. "I believe the unusual energy you expended in your fight against Avar over-exhausted you. Your body simply needed the time to recover."

"I had strange dreams," Dagan told him. "They felt so real that I was sure they were trances."

Master Nazzar sighed and shook his head. "I doubt very much that you were in a trance. Your mind was very active while you slept. Did you dream of Princess Shamara?" The old man was grinning at him knowingly.

Dagan frowned at him. "No, I did not. I dreamt of Ulfyna."

The smile faded from Nazzar's face and he sank onto the chair near the bed. "Tell me of your dream."

He opened his mouth, then closed it. For some reason, he could not speak to tell Nazzar what had happened. Nazzar waited with his brows raised, but Dagan had nothing to tell him. From somewhere deep inside him came a sense of frustration and rebellion. "I…I don't remember it," he lied. But he did remember the dream. Dagan had taken Dagmaeus to see Ulfyna despite his mother's edict that he was not to have any contact with the wolf girl. Dagmaeus had been so happy to see her, that even now Dagan felt the lingering effects of his joy. To tell Nazzar would somehow spoil the experience. And Dagan didn't understand why he had experienced the dream or trance through the eyes of Dagmaeus.

Nazzar stared at him wordlessly for a moment, then said, "You can trust me."

Dagan did not speak. 

Before Nazzar could question him further, the door opened and Vanig slipped back inside followed by Taeron. Shamara's imperial guard did not seem pleased to be there. "The imperial guard of the princess has requested to speak to you," announced Vanig.

Dagan raised a brow. "What news do you have of Princess Shamara? I have apparently been ill these last few days…"

Taeron snorted. "I know just the illness. The princess has suffered from it on more than one occasion. In fact, she has been suffering from it for the last few days also, just as you have."

Was it possible that Shamara had been in the trance with him? He was so sure that it had been a dream, especially since he did not interact with Shamara. How could it have been a trance when the feelings and thoughts he had were those of Dagmaeus? Dagan did not want to question Taeron about Shamara in front of Nazzar. The old man was watching him curiously, almost suspiciously. Nazzar had also been in the dream/trance, so Dagan had to consider that Nazzar had initiated the trance. Why?

He shook himself from his own thoughts when he realized Taeron was waiting for some response.

"My fight with Avar left me weak. I do not know if I contracted some illness or not, but I can assure you so that you might tell the emperor that I was not in a trance with his daughter." Best to get that out of the way. He didn't want Trey to come charging after him for imagined improper behavior in a trance when he was trying to marry off Shamara. Of course, Dagan had every intention of marrying her, but that might take some time.

Taeron smirked. He didn't believe him. "If you are feeling better, my lord prince, Princess Shamara has requested that you meet her."

Dagan liked the sound of that. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I would like very much to meet with her."

"Not now. Now she is riding with the Prince of Varoonya accompanied by Prince Amyr and Lord Apolo. Later she will be attending a performance in the village with Prince Zieben."

His brows drew together. "When did she intend to meet me?" Dagan hoped it wasn't in a trance because he felt too weak to initiate one.

"There is a secluded place in the garden." Taeron was hard-pressed to keep from smirking again. "She wishes to meet you there when the first moon touches the horizon tonight."

That was rather late. "Do you have any idea what she intends to discuss with me?" Dagan thought the rendezvous was quite strange.

"She did not say, but she insisted that I arrange this immediately upon waking two days ago. Until now I haven't had the chance. Shall I tell her that you will meet her?" Taeron raised one brow. Dagan considered it a challenge.

"I will meet her. You can explain the whereabouts of this meeting place with Vanig and we will see you tonight."

Vanig and Taeron left the room, and almost immediately Nazzar asked, "Do you think it is wise to put yourself into a compromising situation with the princess? Your father made quite clear that he was against this trip to Bayman, and if you should shame the princess, the emperor would be within his rights to punish you severely without the expectation of retribution from your father. Perhaps I should accompany you to act as a chaperone. No one would believe you would act improperly if I were with you."

The last thing he wanted was for Nazzar to come between them. Dagan wanted some improper action and he suspected that Shamara did also. Perhaps that was what it would take to make her declare her feelings. "I would rather you stayed here."

His order did not please Nazzar, but he did not respond. Instead he returned to his chair beside the bed and Dagan heard him muttering in his strange language. Dagan stood and immediately felt the room tipping around him which he thought was caused by his bed-ridden state the last few days, but the sensation of weakness became stronger and Dagan realized Nazzar's chanting was become louder.

"What…what are you doing to me?" He struggled to take steps toward his master.

The door opened, and Vanig walked in. Seeing Dagan wobbling, he rushed forward and caught him before he fell. "Your highness, are you all right?"

"I need some air." His head was beginning to feel heavy. He turned to look at Nazzar although it took a great effort. "What are you doing? Stop!"

Nazzar fell silent, and the heaviness lifted. The old man did not speak, nor did he look at Dagan. Now Dagan could walk to the window where he leaned out and breathed deeply of the fresh air. What had Nazzar been doing? Did he dare ask the man for answers that he might not want to hear? Nazzar had some control over him, but for what purpose?

"Vanig, let us go out for a ride. I am sure the emperor's stable is filled with fine horses." Dagan quickly changed his clothing and followed Vanig out of the room. A few people stared at him strangely as he walked through the corridors, but he ignored them. They were bound to be curious about him after the show he had put on before the imperial court in his defeat of Avar and release of Shamara. At least no one dared to speak to him.

As he suspected, the stable was filled with many fine horses from which to choose. Dagan wasn't a great horseman, but he could stay on a horse. On Bayman the transportation of choice was personal hovercraft and horses were used for recreational purposes only. But here on Calabria where the fuel to power a hovercraft was scarce, they relied on the animals. He and Vanig, followed by the remainder of the guards that had accompanied him to Calabria, rode out from the imperial city, headed toward that place which was once a barren desert still called the Wastelands. Dagan's attention was drawn to the hills, and he decided that he would ride out that way. Why he headed there, he did not know, but something pulled him.

"What is that place?" he asked Vanig. "Have you had a chance to familiarize yourself with Calabria at all?"

"I believe it is called the Guerani Hills."

Dagan stared at the hills they were approaching, and he noticed a large, solitary bird circling above them. A shiver ran down his spine and for a moment, he considered returning to the castle. But curiosity drove him forward. According to the healer, Dr. Nelson, Dagan had Guerani blood. How had he come to have Guerani blood? Was it possible that his ancestor had come from Calabria? There were no other Guerani people on Bayman, of that he was certain. In fact, Ryana had been the only impure descendant of the royal Bayman family. For generations the line had been preserved until now.

As they neared the hills, Dagan became aware of other riders, and he was annoyed to recognize Shamara riding beside the smugly smiling Prince of Varoonya. She did not even wave although Prince Naoll did and Dagan heard Amyr chuckle as he rode after them. The older man Dagan did not recognize pulled his horse to a stop in front of Dagan's group. Dagan's guards reacted defensively until Dagan put up a hand and ordered them to put away their weapons.

"I have not had the pleasure of meeting you, but I have heard much about you. I am Apolo, brother to Lady Arora and uncle of Princess Shamara."

Dagan extended his hand, and Apolo took it. "I am pleased to meet you." He had heard much about the governor of the Wastelands.

Dagan could not read much from Apolo, and the Guerani lord did little more than raise a brow. "I see that you are headed to our sacred hills."

Sacred hills. Dagan felt a sense of familiarity as he looked past Apolo toward the rising hills covered with sparse vegetation. The bird was still circling in the sky above. "Are there people living in those hills?"

"Not anymore. When the Guerani were routed and killed, no one dared to take residence amongst their ghosts." Apolo followed his gaze. "There is a legend that says a valley exists, hidden from human eyes and accessible only to the gods."

"The valley of the gods," murmured Dagan.

Apolo raised a brow. "You know of our legends?"

Dagan did not know anything about Guerani legends, but he seemed to know something of the place described by Lord Apolo. He suspected his knowledge had something to do with Nazzar. "I am not sure."

"I've done some exploring in the area throughout the years," Apolo told him, "but I have never been able to find the elusive entry into the valley."

"I doubt the gods are in residence anyway," said Dagan.

"Shall I give you a tour of the area? My home is at the foot of the hills, and I would be honored to have the heir of Bayman as my guest."

Although he would have liked to accept his invitation, Dagan had already made plans to meet Shamara that night. "Perhaps another time."

Lord Apolo smiled and clapped his hand on his shoulder. "She's demanding, but she has a pure, strong heart. I don't think you will break it."

Dagan frowned. "Are there no secrets that can be kept from you Guerani?"

"I am told that you are one of us. How that came to be, I do not know. My invitation to you remains open." He turned his horse, and after nodding to Dagan, he rode after the group that had already disappeared over the horizon.

Looking back at the hills, Dagan noticed that the first sun was already sinking so he would have to cancel his plans to visit the ancient region. Instead, he took his horse for a gallop, then headed back to the imperial city. When he returned to his room, he discovered that Nazzar was gone. Because none of the guards had remained behind and the old man did not leave any note, Dagan had no idea where he could have gone. He had taken what few things he had brought to Calabria. Dagan regretted being harsh with him earlier because he feared that Nazzar had left him for good, and Dagan was not sure his studies under the old man were complete. Finding him gone made Dagan feel anxious.

Accompanied by Vanig, Dagan left his room to join the imperial court in the banquet hall for the evening meal. He received many curious as well as wary stares. Being the object of awe and fear was very different for Dagan who had grown more accustomed to open ridicule and scorn throughout his years at the Bayman court. More than one woman cast him an open invitation with her eyes, but he was interested only in the dark-haired princess who sat between two men Dagan did not recognize. He dared to hope that she was bored stiff.

"Prince Dagan, please join us!"

He turned towards the voice and saw the Guerani lord. Seated next to him was the healer from the Mars Colony. Dagan wondered why Lord Duo was not in attendance as Lord Apolo made an unnecessary introduction.

"We have already met," she said quietly, now averting her eyes as if she were embarrassed.

Dagan realized that she was ashamed because he knew what had happened to her. He looked at Apolo and explained. "Dr. Nelson treated me on the Mars Colony."

"I would hardly consider it treatment," she remarked. "You were in a trance and I just happened to be there when you came out of it."

"Good, then you already know each other. I would ask you, Trynity, to keep him company."

Although Dagan was acquainted with many of the people present, he did not know them. Since he had been a non-entity at his father's court, he hadn't established any relationships with them. Now he did not care to hear their false solicitations because of the fight against Avar in which he wasn't really sure that he had participated in, so he was glad to have a companion for the evening.

The meal began with a speech by the emperor welcoming the delegation from the Cinq Kingdom on Earth. He made no mention of Lord Duo's grown children also sitting at his table, but that did not stop the whispers of those around them who outright speculated that Trey was acknowledging them as Calabrians and not visitors. Dagan saw that Dr. Nelson was annoyed, but she turned her attention to her food. Dagan followed her example by examining his own to see if there were portions that were edible. Lord Apolo ate with gusto while both Dagan and the human healer picked at their food.

"What I wouldn't do for a bowl of rice or a loaf of bread right now," commented Dr. Nelson under her breath.

Dagan glanced at her. "I must admit that I was somewhat pleased to discover that humans eat as we do on Bayman, else I would have died of starvation on Mars Colony."

"I am tempted to sneak back to the transport to find some food," she quipped.

"I may join you, Dr. Nelson."

"You can call me Trynity," she told him.

Lord Apolo was busy flirting with a young woman on the other side of him, so Dagan took it upon himself to entertain Trynity Nelson. "What brings you to Calabria, Trynity?"

She frowned and nodded toward the imperial high table. "That buffoon who is drooling over Princess Shamara. He is Prince Zieben of the Cinq Kingdom. His parents insisted that I accompany him and the new ambassador as a sort of liaison. I really don't think it was necessary. The imperial family speaks our language and is very accustomed to our culture."

Dagan could see that Zieben held no special interest for Shamara, so he took his attention away from them. "I am sorry, Trynity. This trip must be painful for you."

"I don't plan on staying long. Lord Apolo has agreed to teach me what he can of his healing arts, and when I am satisfied with either learning his secrets or admitting that I am not capable of his magic, I will return." Dagan didn't need to touch her to know that she was dissatisfied with her decision. The healer did not want to be here, but she did not want to be back with her own people either. He regretted not ending Quatre Winner's life when he first realized that he was a despicable being because he had destroyed this honorable woman's sense of worth.

She smiled at him. "How goes your courtship of Princess Shamara?"

His brows drew together. "You must have heard of my fight with Prince Avar."

"Stryfe repeated the story to me as he heard it." She looked at him with a raised brow as if expecting more information.

Dagan sighed. "I wish I knew what happened to me, but I swear to you that I was no longer conscious. I thought that I had been killed."

"I have heard it described as berserking," she commented. "Not an unknown condition which is the ultimate goal of a warrior. Even on Earth there are people who claim to have experienced it. Once in battle I almost killed..." She broke off as if the memory was too unpleasant.

"I have no training as a warrior," he said to fill the void. "I do not know what happened to me. One moment I looked at Shamara, the next coherent memory I have is of me standing over Avar ready to deliver a deathblow." He shuddered as he remembered the look on Avar's face. Now he looked around the room and saw him sitting at the imperial table, his arm possessively around his new wife while she fed him. They deserved each other.

"I am more curious as to why you chose not to take Shamara as your wife."

He looked back at Trynity. "I wanted her to make the choice. I want her to love me."

"She already does love you, Prince Dagan. She just doesn't want to admit it to herself."

Dagan hoped she knew what she was talking about.

When the meal came to an end, the court retired to a theater to watch a live performance of dancing and singing. Dagan noticed Prince Zieben sitting close to Shamara. The latter was ignoring him to watch the dancing. Soon the Cinq Kingdom heir gave up, and his head began to bob as he drifted off to sleep.

Trynity, who was sitting by Dagan, whispered, "Watch Prince Zieben. He will be more entertaining than the performance."

She proved to be corrected as the prince began to snore loudly, and when the ambassador reached over to wake him, Emperor Trey shook his head. Dagan saw that Shamara's father was as amused as Trynity Nelson. The snoring continued loudly until he jerked his limbs, and his hand flung out to smack the person sitting in front of him. Dagan was gratified to note that it was the pompous Varoonyan prince. 

"Poor Zieben," murmured Trynity. "He has inherited the worst from both his parents. His laugh is quite embarrassing."

Dagan was satisfied that Shamara would not be interested in that particular prince. After the performance, he escorted Trynity to the imperial apartments where she was staying. She thanked him for his company, and then Dagan returned to his own room. Several times he was forced to stop and make small talk with either men who wanted to talk about his defeat of Avar or women who blatantly hoped to keep him warm that night. Only one woman interested him, he reminded himself again as he reached his room with only Vanig keeping him company.

Nazzar had not returned.

Dagan hoped nothing had happened to the old man.

He worried that his master was angered. 

And for reasons Dagan could not put into words, that made him feel apprehensive.

While he waited for the moons to position for his meeting with Shamara in the garden, he sent Vanig in search of information concerning Nazzar's whereabouts. When he returned, he reported that a few servants had seen the old man leaving the palace alone. He seemed to have been following Dagan when he had left earlier that day because he had gone in the direction of the hills that had so interested Dagan. Where was he now?

When the first moon was close to setting, Dagan left his room and went into the gardens. The meeting place was beneath a thickly canopied tree at the far end of the garden. Calabria was cold at night, so he drew his cape closer to ward off the chill as they ducked beneath. He imagined drawing Shamara inside his cape and holding her close. Together they could be very warm.

"What took you so long?" Her snapping voice was colder than the air around him. "Taeron, take Prince Dagan's guard and both of you find some way to amuse yourself. I'm sure you already have entertainment lined up."

"My lord…" started Vanig, flustered by her commands.

"You may as well come," sighed Taeron as he beckoned Vanig to follow him. "Besides, she's right. You won't regret leaving them to their trances."

"Don't get too distracted," scolded Shamara. "Your duty is to protect me."

Taeron didn't even look back as he waved a hand.

When the two guards had gone, Dagan tried to make his fantasies a reality by pulling Shamara to him, but she resisted. This was going to be a damn cold night! "What did you call me here for?"

She folded her arms over her chest. He noticed that she was wearing a fur-lined cloak. If he could find a way to get her in a better mood, that fur might feel nice against bare skin. "Stop thinking like that!" He had forgotten she could read his thoughts. Then again, he could read hers and discovered that they weren't much different than his.

"Why are we wasting time standing around in the cold?" He might as well be open about what he wanted.

"I didn't come here for that!"

"I did."

She stamped her foot. "We have important things to discuss."

"Such as?" Dagan wanted to put his hands around her waist and slide them upwards. There were steamy wisps rising from her warm body already. He imagined how much there would be when they starting rolling around on her fur-lined cloak.

"If you do not stop such thoughts, I will have to call back Taeron."

Dagan chuckled and took a step closer to her. Shamara backed away. "You won't call back Taeron."

"You mean he won't come! You men all stick together!"

He moved closer. She backed away. He sensed that Shamara was excited by their cat and mouse game, but she refused to show it. "There is no need for pretense between us Shamara. We know each other in almost every way. Your thoughts are my thoughts; your dreams are my dreams; your…"

"Did you have a dream about Ulfyna?" she suddenly asked.

Dagan almost cursed. "Don't tell me you had a dream about Dagmaeus. I don't want to discuss these dreams. I think Nazzar has been putting them in my head, but that won't be happening any more because he has disappeared."

"Nazzar was in my dream," she said.

"He was in my dream, too. The old man can manipulate us. Somehow he gave you that dream when you came to my room. I don't know what he is doing to us, but I am going to demand that he stop."

Shamara reached out to put her hand on his arm. "What…what if he is carrying out the will of the gods?"

Dagan shook off her hand. "How can you suggest such a thing? What can the will of the gods be?"

She grabbed his arms and came closer to him. "We cannot know their will until they reveal it to us. They may be revealing it to us in our dreams."

At the moment he didn't think about the gods as he slid his hands around her waist. She had been very helpful in coming close enough to him, and now she wasn't fighting him. "I think they wish for us to be together, Shamara."

"I'm not so sure," she murmured, but she slid her arms around his neck and stretched herself against him. "But _I _want us to be together."

Her confession was sealed with a kiss that made him forget about the cold and Ulfyna and Dagmaeus. Shamara returned his kiss with enthusiasm, and they drifted to the ground, which was soft under this tree. Taeron had chosen the place well. Shamara wanted this as much as he did, so he regretted his foolish insistence that she admit to loving him because Dagan had no intention of dishonoring the Calabrian first princess as Avar had her sister. He had more respect for her although he didn't mind teaching her a few things before they spoke their vows.

__

"Ulfyna!"

Dagan recognized the sharp voice. It was Nazzar.

__

"Ulfyna, where are you?"

A bird shrieked in the distance and Dagan shook his head. He looked down at Shamara who was still in his arms. She appeared as dazed as she felt, but she pushed herself up on her elbows, and after blinking a few moments, she cried, "Look!"

Dagan turned to see a wolf watching them. Looking up, he saw the eagle on the branch, and he almost cursed the gods for their cruelty. He realized also that they were no longer surrounded by darkness, but by the rays of the rising first sun. He looked back at Shamara who seemed completely confused until their attention was drawn to the sound of running footsteps.

His mouth almost fell open as a man he recognized as Dagmaeus came to a stop over them, Ulfyna close behind him.

"Did you hear him?" asked Ulfyna, her eyes darting around the heavily wooded area. "We must return!"

Shamara looked helplessly at Dagan.

"We have to go back, Dagan." Dagmaeus raised a brow at Dagan.

Dagan stepped away from Shamara who quickly stood and straightened her rumpled clothing. She was strangely dressed, but then again, so was he, both wearing crudely fashioned tunics. They were no longer in the imperial garden, and if Dagan were to guess, he would say they were in a forest near the Guerani hills. He wondered what they had been doing before they arrived in this time and place.

"Take her hands," he whispered to Shamara. "You should be able to return her."

Shamara looked up at him. "Will we return where we belong?"

He knew she wasn't talking about Ulfyna's chamber. "I do not know," he answered honestly. "I think the gods have brought us here. We must accept their will."

This time Shamara did not argue about the will of the gods. Instead she hurried to Ulfyna, and when she took the other woman's hands, they both disappeared. Dagan looked at Dagmaeus who was watching the place they had been, and then he looked at Dagan as he held out his hands.

"That is an interesting trick, my friend. Perhaps you could teach it to me, or is it exclusive to you Guerani people?"

"What could I teach a god?" Dagan touched his hands, and suddenly he found himself in a chamber that was gilded in gold and jewels, furnished with every comfort imaginable. 

Dagmaeus laughed as he released his hand. "I wish you silly, ignorant people would not call us 'gods.'" 

"But your powers…" Dagan started only to be interrupted by the god.

"I do not wish to discuss this." Dagan instinctively knew that Dagmaeus was as confused about his powers as Dagan had been his whole life.

Dagan could not believe that he was now the god's servant when he had so recently been reliving this god's memories. Sensing that Dagmaeus was thirsty, Dagan instinctively walked to a cabinet where he found sweet wine, which he poured from a golden pitcher into a delicate crystal goblet.

Dagmaeus took the goblet from him. "What would I do without you, Dagan? My father has told me that I will be returning to our world. I should hate to leave you behind."

Dagan stood respectfully back although he was eager to ask the god many questions; not the least was what he meant by his last comment.

Dagmaeus looked at him. "I was born on this planet, but I am not of this world."

"Do you now read my mind?" asked Dagan.

The other man laughed. "I could not do so. Only you Guerani people can do such a thing. That is why you make excellent servants. You are also servile and weak, and long ago my mother and father chose to protect you from the brutality of the beasts on the plains. My mother believes that she can read the future although she does so with not much precision. She has foretold the near extinction of your people at the hands of those barbarians on the plains. For the time being you are safe as we protect you."

"Where do you come from?" asked Dagan, unable to reign in his curiosity. He didn't know where he got the courage to question a god.

Dagmaeus did not seem bothered by his audacity. "From a place not visible to you. Between the two suns revolve many planets. On the planet of my ancestors, they have watched the many planets and explored the heavens. One day, a learned scholar predicted that there was another planet on the same rotation as our own. He was scoffed at, yet he made plans to find and visit the planet."

Dagan could not believe what he was hearing. Dagmaeus' parents had come from ancient Bayman!

"My parents chose to accompany him. There had been a great scandal at the court concerning the murder of my father's brother. He had been a man with a very dark soul, and he had hurt many people until my mother dealt with him. My father brought her to this place to escape the wrath of his friends and followers, and they have remained here ever since." Dagmaeus looked at Dagan. "My mother saw that my uncle's power was very destructive, so she had no choice in what she did."

"You mentioned a prediction," remarked Dagan, curious about Rahina's prophecy. 

Dagmaeus shrugged. "When she arrived here, she had a sudden, powerful vision that a female of your race would be the salvation of both our people."

"That woman is Ulfyna," concluded Dagan.

"She must take the burden from my mother. Rahina is not strong enough to contain the dark powers. Only the sacred shield can do so, and that shield is Ulfyna. She is young and strong…"

"And beautiful," added Dagan although he much preferred Shamara.

Dagmaeus sighed. "I was not meant to meet her, but I did. I do not know what harm I have done to her training and my mother's plans this night. But when you suggested our visit, I could not resist. I have missed her."

"Perhaps you were meant to meet her," suggested Dagan. He knew how Dagmaeus had come to meet Ulfyna, and he thought it was no coincidence.

"Meant to meet who?" 

They both turned to the doorway, and Dagan felt a cold chill sweep over him as Camrin walked slowly into the room. He raised a brow at Dagan who realized he should leave the two men alone. He was, after all, a servant. Dagmaeus nodded over his shoulder, and Dagan saw a door which doubtless lead to the servant's quarters. 

When he left the room, he paused just in the shadows of the passageway where he wouldn't be observed, and he heard Camrin say, "What has you looking so pleased, my friend? Don't tell me you have finally found a woman who can stand your touch."

Dagan didn't hear the god's reply. He moved through the dark corridor that wound and wound, gradually leading downwards, occasionally lit by the entrances of other chambers. Soon he was headed in another direction on level ground. Finally he came into an open area that was filled with men and women, hot from ovens, noisy from chattering as the servants went about the business of preparing food. In another chamber nearby he saw women working on laundry in a huge steaming vat. No one seemed to notice his presence, and Dagan wasn't sure what he wanted to do until he noticed another person enter the kitchens.

He hurried to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the passageway from which he had just exited.

She seemed startled at first, and he knew she hadn't even realized it was him. Then she cried, "Dagan! What is going on?"

Dagan pulled Shamara into his arms. "I was worried about you."

"I am in no danger. Ulfyna calls me by my name, and I am her personal servant." She raised a brow. "How can this be?"

"I do not know. Possibly we are their namesakes, and if we are here, they may very well be in our time and place."

Shamara giggled. "They must be very confused."

"Can you imagine any way for us to escape this place?" Dagan didn't think she would.

"The gods did not will us to be here?" she asked with a mocking raise of her brow.

"The gods claim not to be gods at all," he told her. 

"Poor Dagan!" She put her hand on his cheek. "You must be adrift without your gods to cling to."

"They are your gods too!" He shoved her hand away. 

Shamara slipped her hands over his chest and up around his neck. "Well, we may as well make the best of this. Unless I am mistaken, the other Shamara and Dagan are quite experienced in ways I would like to be."

Dagan hadn't considered that kind of opportunity, but with Shamara pressed against him in this dark, secluded passageway, he suddenly thought of nothing else. She brought his head to hers, kissing him as he had done her earlier. Shamara was more than pliant in his hands; she had become quite wanton. Their simple garments were easier to contend with than the elaborate clothing they wore in their own reality. Shamara clung to him as he opened the doors to paradise for her, but when he would have gone through the last one, a clearing throat made him jerk away.

"I'm not surprised to see you Guerani rats mating in the dark." Camrin stepped into the light, and Dagan moved in front of Shamara to shield her from his gaze as she straightened her clothing.

"Does my lord need me?" asked Dagan breathlessly. He really didn't think he could walk back right now. He needed a few moments for his disappointment and frustration to melt away.

Camrin raised a brow. "You would know the answer to that better than I." He looked past him to Shamara who shuddered. "My dear Shamara. You are quite lovely. The prince that wins your heart would be very fortunate indeed."

Shamara gasped. "How…how did you…?"

Camrin took a step toward them. Dagan backed away. This man knew exactly who they were; he could read in his eyes that he had something to do with their presence here. "Stay away from us."

"What will you do, Dagan? You are in my place now, and Dagmaeus cannot come to aid you this time. You may even find that you have no special powers, so you cannot even protect Shamara." There was an unholy glow in Camrin's eyes, and Dagan felt almost crippled by the evil surging forth from him.

Without responding, he seized Shamara's hand, and they began to run. He could hear Camrin behind them, his laughter ringing in his ears, low and menacing. The corridors were only vaguely familiar to Dagan, but he ran, twisting and turning, ducking down different avenues, and each time he hoped they had lost Camrin, he could hear the demon behind them.

Finally they surged out of the tunnel and into the fresh air of the forest. Above their heads he heard the screech of the eagle, and he saw the wolf dart ahead of them, so Dagan followed. Shamara kept apace with him through their frantic escape. Above them the sky became dark, and lightening streaked through the black clouds. Dagan could no longer see where they were going, but he heard the wolf and the eagle and continued after them. Suddenly they came to the edge of a cliff. Below them Dagan could hear the pounding of the surf against rocks.

They both turned to face Camrin, but he did not appear. 

"Where is he?" asked Shamara breathlessly.

As if in answer, from the darkness of the forest, a beast emerged, larger than any creature they had fought before on Mars Colony. It breathed fire and would have incinerated them had Shamara not brought up the shield around them.

"I have no powers to defeat it," said Dagan.

"We have power together," Shamara reminded him.

Dagan doubted that he could be any help without the powers of Dagmaeus, but he reached down to take Shamara's hands. The light that burst around them was blinding, just as it had been on Mars Colony when they defeated Magnar, the creature of Camrin. He heard the beast roar in anger before the dark clouds dissolved quickly. When he was sure the danger had passed, Dagan released her hands.

She turned around to look at him. "Do you know what this means?" she asked breathlessly.

He did, but he did not want to put it into words.

Shamara had no such reservation. "Ulfyna was not the sacred shield." She slipped her hands into his and he felt the power flowing between them again. "_We_ are the shield, Dagan, you and I, together!"

The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, but Dagan sensed that they were still missing an important part. "We must face Camridaeus, Shamara."

" Together we can face anything, Dagan." Her eyes were glistening as they met his. "I love you, Dagan!"

Dagan's heart felt even bigger in his chest as he leaned down to touch his lips to hers. "I think I have loved you thousands of years, Shamara."

When their lips touched, the space around them became so bright he had to close his eyes.

Shamara opened her eyes to find that she was no longer in the forest and no longer in the garden. In fact, she was in her bed, her father standing beside with his arms folded and her mother wringing her hands.

"I was afraid I was going to have to come in there and get you again," remarked Trey, but he did not appear to be angry. He looked over his shoulder. "Taeron, go check on Prince Dagan."

Shamara sat up and quickly looked at her mother. "I have had the most amazing experience."

"As we have," she told Shamara, patting her hands. 

"Yes, there is nothing quite like the experience of being called a barbarous animal by one's own daughter," commented Trey with a chuckle. "I don't think that young woman had much respect for the beasts of the plains."

"We were in a trance," she started, but he interrupted.

"You were tumbling around in one of those secluded spots in the garden. I'm not sure what went on, but as a pre-caution, I think you had best marry your partner in this fiasco."

"It was a trance," insisted Shamara although she could see that neither of her parents believed her.

The door opened and Taeron appeared. "Prince Dagan is awake."

"I will assume that Prince Dagan has resumed his proper respect for the filthy brutes of my court?"

Taeron nodded.

Shamara clenched her fists. She wanted to hit someone, anyone, to make him or her listen to her. "I am telling you that Dagan and I were drawn into a trance! We did not wish to be there."

"Who could have done such a thing?" asked Arora. "I was with your father, and Apolo had gone back to his palace. Only he and I could initiate such a trance."

"What…what if the Shamara and Dagan from that time…"

Trey threw up his hands. "I have heard enough! As soon as you are presentable, you will be speaking marriage vows with Dagan and I don't want to hear another word from you until you do!" He turned on his heel and walked out.

Shamara looked at her mother, but Arora merely sighed and shrugged. "You brought this on yourself, Shamara. I doubt Guerani trances have been used as enterprisingly as you and Dagan have used them."

"I wouldn't count on that, mother! The other Dagan and Shamara seemed to have a good idea of how to use a trance to their advantage." Shamara tossed off the blanket, then glared at Taeron. "I suppose I have you to thank for this! You were supposed to be protecting me!"

He shrugged then ducked out quickly when she threw a vase in his direction. Shamara stared at the door and the broken pieces on the floor for a moment then took a deep, cleansing breath. She turned to look at her mother. "I want to marry Dagan, but I did not want it to happen under such suspicious circumstances. I now know that we were meant to be together. The gods have pre-ordained our joining."

Arora smiled. "I don't know about the gods, but your father has pre-ordained it."

Shamara thought about her mother's comment as she bathed then dressed in wedding finery, a gown of deep royal purple. Chaela had come to help her dress along with her other sisters who exclaimed and gasped over Shamara's beauty. Chaela made some sly comments about her wedding night, which made the younger girls giggle and blush. When they were finally finished and her father arrived to escort her to the banquet hall where the ceremony would take place, Shamara waited until her siblings had gone before she shut the door and turned to face her father.

"You know," she said accusingly.

He raised a brow. "I know? What do I know?"

"Deep inside you are every bit as callous and barbaric as any Calabrian. That day you took me into the Wastelands, you couldn't leave me there."

Trey shrugged. "You know that I tried."

"You couldn't, and don't tell me your human side made you save me. From the moment of my birth, everyone has ensured my safety, even if they did not know why. Apolo had no reason to fill my lungs with the breath of life, for I was a useless female, unwanted even by my own mother. Between the two of them, they sustained me until you arrived. They could have left me in the Wastelands."

Trey sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. "What are you saying, Shamara? You know how Apolo feels about exposing infants. He is a healer, and your mother nourished you because deep inside she felt for you what she did not think she had a right to feel: love. Are you accusing us all of another reason?"

Shamara looked up at his eyes. "When I bonded with you, you learned the truth about me and Dagan." He didn't respond to her charge, so she continued. "Why else would you make a marriage agreement with Bayman the moment you discovered his existence? His mother had hidden him, probably knowing his destiny and hoping she could spare him from it."

"I don't feel that I had a choice," he finally admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I knew that the gods intended you to be with him. But I had hoped that it would be in the usual manner: love, marriage, and children. After you returned from Mars Colony following Hardane's death, I knew that I was mistaken. I still have hope that you will come through the ordeal the gods have decreed, but I am afraid that to save us all, you will have to sacrifice yourself."

Shamara reached up to wipe a tear from his cheek. "Do not fear, father. Together, Dagan and I are very strong. We will not have to serve as a sacrifice. I believe that one day you will hold our child in your arms."

He drew her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "I will pray to the gods that it is so, but that is one thing you did not show me when we bonded."

Shamara smiled and hugged him tighter. "You aren't allowed to see everything, father. I am the maker of my own destiny."

They met her mother and Apolo in the hall. Her uncle seemed annoyed, and when Shamara asked him why he was in such a sour mood he replied, "Duo is here, and he has brought that brazen, white-haired witch with him. Trynity is going to be devastated to see them together. I am glad she has already gone ahead to the Wasteland Palace."

When Shamara exchanged looks with both her parents, she realized that they knew as well as she did that while Trynity might be upset, the person who was really devastated was actually standing before them. Apolo was so much in love with Larya that he couldn't think straight.

"Don't spoil my wedding day," Shamara warned him. "Behave yourself, uncle."

"Me?" He was still grumbling to himself about that brazen whore as they rounded the corner to the banquet hall. The doors stood open, and many faces were turned in their direction. Shamara wished she knew what Dagan was thinking, but he was too far away although she could see him waiting for her next to Vanig. She half-expected Nazzar to be nearby, but he was absent. Shamara wondered if Nazzar wished them well or not. Was it possible that he was the same Nazzar of their dreams? Had he been part of their trances?

As Shamara approached Dagan, her family following in support, she noticed Duo, beside him Taeron who winked and rubbed his hands together gleefully. Of course he would be happy! After today he would become Amyr's imperial guard. She saw that Larya was also beaming, but the smile faded when her eyes fell on Apolo. Shamara wondered what she could do to make their match a reality, then decided that was up to them. 

When she reached Dagan, he held out his hand. "I would have you as my wife, Shamara, daughter of Trey of Calabria, if you will have me."

She hesitated, fearing what might happen, but she took it and was relieved there was no reaction except the tingle of excitement that ran down her arm, then down her spine. "I will be your wife," she responded, "Dagan of Bayman, son of Seighen."

There was subdued applause before they recited traditional vows, both Calabrian and those from Bayman. When they were finished, they were truly wed with only one thing remaining to make it a reality. Dagan drew her into her arms although a kiss was not a traditional necessity. He kissed her until she felt faint from lack of breath, and the thunder she imagined was the cheering and clapping of the guests.

Dagan's lips moved to her ear. "He is here. Can you feel him?"

Shamara became aware of a cold and evil presence.

The doors at the back of the hall swung open, and everyone turned to see a woman sweep into the room. Ryana!

"Brother! How inconsiderate that you could not even wait for my arrival to celebrate your nuptials!" 

He released Shamara and turned to face his approaching sister. "The decision was made suddenly. Even if I knew where you have been hiding, I could not have informed you in time."

Ryana looked him up and down in a way that infuriated Shamara, and then she looked at her. "You may have him, princess. I am through with him."

There were gasps of shock and outrage, which the princess from Bayman ignored as she turned around to face the emperor. "My dear Trey, you have ignored my father's wishes in marrying my brother to your daughter."

"He can do his worst," said Trey with a smirk. Shamara knew that Bayman was a weak, almost defenseless planet. If Seighen were truly angry, he could do nothing in retaliation.

Ryana raised a brow, glanced at Arora as if she were the lowliest of servants, then spun in a circle, taking in as many people in with her gaze as possible. "Lord Camridaeus will avenge himself! He will avenge himself soon! You will all pay a high price for the outrage you have allowed today!" She swept in another circle, and after a malevolent glance that took in both Dagan and Shamara, she walked out of the room.

"I don't pity you your new in-laws." Duo was the first to react after her bizarre statement. Shamara guessed it was because he had been dealing with the Camridaen cult for almost a year now and was well used to their histrionics.

Shamara accepted his kiss on the cheek and took the opportunity to whisper, "I thought you were too busy to come to the surface. Did the arrival of Trynity Nelson have anything to do with it?"

He raised his head. "My work has brought me to the surface. The scoundrel I was chasing escaped on a spacecraft not of Calabrian design. I traced its exhaust tailings to the surface and arrived only an hour ago."

Shamara raised a brow. "Do you often travel with Larya?"

Duo frowned at her. "I did not arrive _with Larya_. Taeron must have contacted his mother, and she received permission from Trey to come down for the ceremony. She was already here."

She could not question him further as her family surged onto the newly married couple to congratulate them. Shamara couldn't hear what her father said to Dagan, but she saw that they shared a conspiratorial smile. So they were plotting together! If she hadn't been so happy to be married to Dagan, she would be angry with both of them for forcing her to suffer the attentions of the princes vying for her attentions these last few days. Chaela didn't say anything as she hugged her, but she winked. Amyr had less tact and asked her if she wanted any pointers. Shamara would have kicked him if her mother hadn't hustled him out of the way. 

She took Shamara's arm and gently drew her aside. "I haven't been a very good mother to you this day," she whispered. "There are things we should have discussed before now, but…"

Shamara knew exactly what she was trying to get at, so she interrupted her. "Mama, you needn't worry. I know what to expect."

"You do?" Then she laughed nervously. "Of course you do. Between Chaela and Amyr, you must have learned all you need to know."

"In truth, Mama, I didn't learn anything from them. I asked Trynity, and she told me everything she knows. I have already discussed her advice with Dagan…"

"You discussed this with Dagan!" Her mother seemed to be shocked. Her face became a bright shade of red. "I have never discussed such things with your father."

Shamara smiled and patted her back. "You might benefit from such a discussion."

"What discussion?" Trey came to them, sliding an arm around the waist of his wife who was chewing her bottom lip in thought.

Shamara kissed his cheek. "You will find out later."

Arora was blushing. He raised a brow. "It should be interesting."

"It will be." She moved away from him and back to Dagan. Apolo was speaking to him and she caught the end of his offer to use the Wasteland Palace for the next few weeks before they returned to Bayman. Shamara thought it was an excellent idea. "I cannot imagine a more romantic place than the foot of the Guerani Hills."

Dagan drew her against him. "Any place you are, Shamara, is perfect for me."

Amyr snorted. "Give it up Dagan. You got her. No need for all that romantic crap."

"You are so clueless." Quynn Nelson shoved Amyr aside to hug Shamara, then Dagan. "I know you two will be very happy."

"With that prophecy, how could they not," remarked Amyr sarcastically.

She slanted her gaze toward him. "You really need to grow up, Prince Amyr."

Shamara silently agreed with her. "How long will you be staying on Calabria?" She had not had any time to talk to Lord Duo's children.

"She can't be leaving soon enough," muttered Amyr before wandering away. His attention was immediately drawn by a couple of giggling young women, so he turned back and signaled to Taeron, but Shamara glared at him.

"You are still my imperial guard," she reminded him.

He sighed. "I know."

"Not for long," said Dagan with a chuckle.

The banquet lasted far too long in Shamara's opinion. She couldn't even concentrate on the food, and she knew Dagan was just as distracted because he ate sand slugs without even realizing it. Her father made another ridiculous speech and she wondered if he had a stockpile of mindless orations designed to make the imperial courtiers look like fools when they clapped and cheered at the conclusion. He always had a smug smile as he took his seat while her mother rolled her eyes. They had little respect for the nobles who wasted their time at the court rather than working on their estates. Shamara didn't think that they realized he was mocking them.

When the meal was over, they sat through what seemed like hours and hours of entertainment. The poor performers had only a day to prepare a new act from last night, so the performances were not all that interesting or inspired. Shamara was more amused to watch Apolo and Duo in some type of heated discussion that she was sure involved a couple of females. She didn't see Trynity anywhere and was not surprised that she would keep out of Duo's sight. Larya seemed to be everywhere, but usually hanging off Duo. Shamara understood that despite her position as governor of the first moon, Larya's only thread to respectability was through her son and Duo.

The first sun was already setting when her father declared the celebration at an end. Her things had already been sent to her uncle's palace, so all that was left was to make her good-byes. Her mother was teary-eyed, her sisters giggling, her brothers disinterested. Shamara was quite amazed that her father suddenly appointed Larya her personal attendant for the duration of her stay in the Wasteland Palace despite Apolo's open hostility. Trey reminded him that since he had married off the last of his daughters, his home was without a hostess, so Apolo had no choice but to accept Trey's decision. Duo was headed to the Guerani Hills anyway, so he would be bringing his men on the trip to protect the newlyweds. 

She said good-bye to her father last. "I only wish I could see what goes on at the Wasteland Palace," he said with a wolfish grin.

"Father!" Shamara was shocked.

He waved his hand. "I'm not talking about you! You _will_ give me a thorough accounting of what goes on between Larya and Apolo as well as Trynity and Duo, so don't spend all your time locked away with Dagan." Trey snickered. "Poor Trynity. She left last night with plans to stay quietly secluded at the Wasteland Palace learning what she can of Apolo's healing arts. I cannot imagine her surprise when you all arrive." He rubbed his hands gleefully. "I'd love to see the look on her face when Duo and Larya show up!"

"You are too cruel," remarked Arora. "Besides, I already sent a message warning her."

Trey frowned. "You spoil my fun."

"I've only just begun," she warned him.

After Shamara kissing her mother and father, Shamara left the palace with her new husband and their entourage. Although there was a horse for her, Shamara chose to ride with Dagan. He certainly had no complaint and was more than pleased when she settled on the horse before him. Larya gave them a half-hearted warning about not slowing them down, then winked at them and moved her horse near Duo's, pointedly ignoring Apolo who was pretending to ignore her as well.

Taeron brought his horse close to them. "Should there be any trouble, princess, I shall do what I can to protect both of you."

"As will I," said Vanig from the other side.

Despite Ryana's dire warning, the trip to the Wasteland Palace passed smoothly with no incident. Unfortunately Dagan's lack of skill at riding horse meant he had to concentrate on keeping them both on. Shamara had hoped he would be using his hands more creatively, and she realized early on that for safety's sake, she wouldn't distract him with her own. The trip was much more boring than she could have anticipated and hoped this would not set the tone for the rest of the night. By the time they reached the palace, both moons were high, but the palace was brightly lit. The servants were assembled to express their best wishes, and after thanking them, she sought out Trynity who was standing to the back in the shadows. Duo hadn't come in although Larya and Taeron were waiting to take Shamara to a suite at the back of the palace prepared for the newlyweds. Shamara could see that Trynity was avoiding looking at Larya.

Trynity hugged her. "Congratulations, Shamara. I know that you and Dagan will be very happy."

Shamara smiled and held out her hands. "I can make you happy, too, Trynity." The other woman stared at her hands as if thinking about her offer to take away the memories of what Quatre Winner had done, but she shook her head even as a tear slid down her cheek. Humans, decided Shamara, were very strange in their desire to live with pain. She let her hands drop. "Anyway, I thank you for the advice which I intend to put to use very soon."

The other woman laughed and dashed away her tear. "Don't try it all at once."

Shamara smiled. "I already have a plan."

That plan did not include Taeron hanging out in her room while his mother helped her get ready for Dagan. He seemed annoyed to be there, and made a sound of disgust when his mother dropped a pair of golden chains on the table and advised her not to be reluctant to use them if her lord prince got too carried away. Shamara wondered if it would be all right to use them if _she _got carried away.

Taeron did not follow her out, so when Dagan walked in, he frowned at her imperial guard. He walked back to the door and held it open. "Not tonight, Taeron."

He headed to the door, but he suddenly stopped and Shamara gasped when he pulled a dagger and shoved the blade against Dagan's throat. "If you hurt the princess in any way…"

Shamara hurried to him and jerked his hand away. "That's enough, Taeron!"

"I'm still your imperial guard," he reminded her although she shoved him out the door.

She smiled at him. "In five minutes you won't be." Then she shut the door, but not before she heard him mutter, "You mean _one_ minute."

Dagan was chuckling as she came into his arms. "I think it will take more than a minute to get out of my clothing."

Grabbing a handful of his ornate tunic, Shamara produced the dagger Taeron had passed to her and pulled him to her. "Do you want to bet, my lord husband?"


	33. Duo saves TrynityTrynity saves Duo

****

Guerani Palace, Calabria

The first sun was rising as Trynity stared at the window opening to the balcony overlooking the central courtyard. The sun's pink and yellow rays streamed through the window, casting an eerie glow. She had slept hardly at all the night before, or neither that night nor the night before. Trynity hadn't had a decent night's sleep since she arrived on Calabria, and each day she spent at the palace of the Wasteland governor, her nerves grew stretched to almost beyond limit. She knew if she didn't do something soon, she would snap, and yet she couldn't bring herself to do what needed to be done. Trynity couldn't talk to Duo, couldn't even bear to be in the same room as him knowing that if their eyes met, she would probably dissolve into a puddle of tears.

Yet she couldn't bear not to see him. Now she could hear the beginning of activity in the courtyard below the window, so she drew herself up slowly and quietly crossed the room to a spot where she stood obscured by the drapery. There she watched the troops from the second moon prepare their horses and gather together their supplies. They were headed out on another foray into the Guerani hills in search of the elusive insurgent who had wreaked havoc on the second moon. The man had been an annoyance then, but now his activities in the Guerani hills had earned the ire of the emperor. Gathering together any disgruntled men he could find, the insurgent went from one peaceful village to another, preaching the coming of Camridaeus, and those who did not accept his teachings, were attacked by his band of thugs. Trynity knew that Duo was under great pressure from Trey to find him, yet the man stayed one step ahead of him, as if he had help from the dark god himself in eluding his pursuers.

Seeing Duo step from the stable leading his own horse, Trynity backed away so that he couldn't see her if he looked up at her window which he usually did. The man could not let her go. Yet she craned forward to get a better look at him, then gritted her teeth as a couple of pretty young servant girls hurried to him delivering his supplies. While he thanked them, he ignored their bold flirting as he fitted the rations in the packs tied to the horse. Part of Trynity wished he would take them up on their blatant offers, maybe so she could have a reason to be angry with him. Then again, she felt a cold wave of jealousy rip through her now as one of the girls put her hand on his arm to draw his attention.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" The sharply delivered question frightened the girl into skittering away from Duo. Lady Larya came into view, her hands on her hips. She did not need to say more to send the girls scurrying back into the palace. 

Duo said something to the beautiful woman, which made her smile. Her reply made him laugh, and Trynity felt a stab to where her heart used to be. She had never wanted to see this, Duo and Larya together with only her pregnant belly between them. Larya was everything that Trynity wasn't. While Trynity spent her days sick as a dog, Larya glowed with impending motherhood. She was fair, graceful and beautiful. Trynity felt like a troll every time she caught her reflection in a mirror. The gods obviously favored a match between Duo and Larya. Trynity was only in the way. The gods had never favored her for anything.

Having seen enough to feed her depression, Trynity trudged back to her bed and lay down to stare at the ceiling. She tried not to remember the life she had once had, but she couldn't help reliving the months of what she would term bliss during the time following the collapse of the Coalition and her first arrival on Calabria. Duo had been hers then, and she couldn't help wondering now what she had done to deserve losing him. Of course, she knew the answer. She had not trusted him enough to tell him about her condition. Her father's conviction that she would destroy what was left between her and Duo meant nothing to Trynity. Nothing remained. She was so soiled by Quatre that she could not imagine being with Duo, and although she knew that Duo would raise her child whether it was his or not, she could not live in such an arrangement if her baby was Quatre's. 

Trynity wished she would receive word from the Imperial Palace that the entourage of Prince Zieben was ready to return. She could not avoid Duo forever, nor could she stand this pain much longer.

Sighing, she closed her eyes, willing herself to dream of happier times, a dream that could last forever.

By the time she awoke again, the second sun had risen and her room was flooded with warm light. She heard some giggling, and she turned to find the same young women who had been flirting with Duo now standing in her room looking through her clothing. The dark-haired one turned to look at Trynity, a smirk on her lips.

"So, you are awake! Do you wish to have a meal brought to your room?"

Trynity sat up in her bed. "What are you doing with my things?"

"Nothing!" sniffed the lighter of the two. "We were curious about your strange dress."

The dark-haired woman tossed aside one of Trynity's dresses. "My name is Naiya and this is my sister Macayl. We are here to serve you."

"I don't need anything," Trynity told her. She didn't care for the way Naiya was staring at her, as if she were sizing her up.

Naiya apparently didn't believe in keeping her thoughts to herself. "Are you Lord Duo's woman?" She didn't give Trynity a chance to answer before she rushed on. "He has not spoken vows with you, although you have given him a son and a daughter. He has not spoken vows to Lady Larya either. Neither of you is woman enough for him."

The door opened, and Trynity cringed to see Larya standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. Naiya turned away from Trynity, and for a moment she returned Larya's malevolent gaze before subserviently lowering her head.

"What brings you here?" demanded Larya. "Your duties for the day do not bring either of you anywhere near this wing of the palace."

Naiya was at a loss for words. Her sister filled the void. "We…we only wanted to be helpful to our guests."

Larya glanced about the room where Trynity's clothing had been tossed carelessly by the malicious young women. "I see how you have helped. Now get back to work before I decide you need a whipping."

Both women walked to the door, but Naiya paused when she could stare at Larya eye to eye.

Larya's perfectly curved lips now formed a frightening sneer. Trynity was reminded that the woman had once tried to kill Trey.

Naiya sniffed disdainfully and continued on her way out. Larya watched them retreat, then turned back and entered Trynity's room. She closed the door behind her and immediately went to retrieve the clothing.

Trynity left her bed and started to help her. "You don't need to do that!"

Larya paused and looked at her with her brow raised. "While Princess Shamara is here, I am in charge of the household. I feel responsible that those two snakes were able to intrude upon you as they did."

Trynity wished Larya would go away. Not only did she want to wallow alone in her self-pity; she certainly didn't want to have any kind of conversation with Duo's woman. "You could not have guessed their intention."

The other woman snatched a few more articles of clothing from the floor, then looked back at Trynity. "I know their type, and all their tricks. They'll do anything to get what they want."

"I don't have anything they want." Trynity tossed what clothing she had retrieved onto a dressing table.

Larya shrugged and did as Trynity had done with the clothing she had picked up. "Naiya believes she can seduce Lord Duo into making her his wife. A young and foolish woman like that can prove to be a danger to anyone that stands in her way."

"What she or Duo does has nothing to do with me," pointed out Trynity. She hated noticing that Larya's skin was flawless, or that her eyes were sparkling. There was absolutely nothing that wasn't perfect about her. Trynity hadn't bathed in a couple of days, her hair was tangled, and her face greasy and still marked by freckles that she had to hide beneath makeup. Larya had probably never used makeup in her life!

"She perceives you as a rival, whether you are or not." Larya headed to the door where she paused. "There was an attack on a village to the west. Lord Apolo asked me to find out if you would be willing to assist him in helping the victims."

Although she wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed, her weak spot had always been helping others. Why else had she spent so many years on that godforsaken colony on Mars? "Tell him that I will."

Larya was openly surprised that she had agreed. "You will need proper Calabrian clothing or you may make the villagers uncomfortable. I will lend you some of my clothing for now until you can buy some of your own."

"I won't be staying long enough to need a Calabrian wardrobe," Trynity told her. She didn't want to borrow anything from Larya, yet she had no choice. By the reactions of Naiya and her sister, Trynity's clothing was odd by their standards. "But I thank you just the same."

"The bath is through that door." Larya pointed out tactfully before walking out. The woman hadn't said so, but Trynity knew that she must look even worse than she thought.

The bathing chamber opened to several suites, but it was deserted now. Trynity knew she shared it with Stryfe and Quynn among others, but they had gone out with Duo as they did every day. Neither of her children would admit to it, but she knew they wanted to spend as much time as they could with their biological father. Duo had made quite an impression on the both of them, and Trynity suspected they wondered why she had rejected him in the first place. They would not understand how it had been between them. That she could be young and afraid of being abandoned, that the man who now epitomized responsibility could do anything irrational. Now soaking in a hot bath, Trynity didn't know if she understood exactly how they had both managed to screw up such a good thing. She did know that there was no going back.

She had been so deep in thought, that she hadn't heard anyone enter the chamber, so she was started when she felt warm water pouring over her hair. Turning, she managed to see through the water dribbling into her eyes that Larya was pouring shampoo in her hand. 

"I…I don't need any help," she gasped. Trynity was beginning to feel deeply humiliated by Duo's woman.

Larya ignored her. "Don't be ridiculous! Sit back and relax."

By the tone of her voice, Larya had no intention of listening to Trynity, so Trynity shut her eyes and tried to block out the fact that Taeron's mother was washing her hair.

As if she could read her mind, Larya remarked, "So what do you think of my son? I am very proud of him."

Trynity couldn't respond. She was completely mortified to the tips of her toes. Fortunately Larya poured a pitcher full of water over her head, then another almost before Trynity had caught her breath. When she had finally wiped the water from her eyes, she saw that Larya was waiting with a towel. Not wanting to appear foolish by resisting, Trynity stepped from the tub and gritted her teeth as Larya wrapped the towel around her.

Larya turned her around to face her. "I am grateful that you opened Lord Duo's eyes about my son. I had given up hope that he would ever see the truth. He is a very stubborn man."

Trynity recalled how stubborn he had been over the stupid fellowship that had driven them apart. But she didn't say anything in response.

"You seem to be a stubborn woman as well," commented Larya with a smile.

Trynity couldn't take it anymore. "Why are you being so nice to me? I don't think I would be as kind as you are if I were in your position!"

Larya seemed taken aback. "What…what do you mean by that?"

Trynity looked meaningfully at the other woman's distended belly.

Larya gasped, her eyes widened, then she laughed as she laid a hand on her belly. "This? Do you think…?" She laughed again, and Trynity felt like slapping her.

"What kind of woman are you?" Trynity pulled the towel closer around her. "Don't you want the father of your child to be with you?"

"Of course I do!" Larya was still laughing, but she suddenly sobered and she dropped down on a bench beside her over which she had draped the clothing she had brought Trynity. "I just don't think it will ever happen." Now there were tears rolling down her cheeks.

Trynity grabbed the clothing and turned away as she dressed. This was worse than a bad soap opera! Larya was sniveling, and Trynity felt like heaving what little was in her stomach. "You needn't worry about me! I am going back through that wormhole, and I will not stand between you and Duo. Soon enough he will realize that he is better off with you."

Larya grabbed her arm and dragged her down on the bench beside her. "Lord Duo is not the father of my child."

Trynity was taken aback, and for a moment there seemed to be a ray of sunshine in her life, but the black cloud of memories of Quatre quickly raced to blot it out. "I don't believe you! Duo told me that you asked him to give you a daughter."

"I did," Larya told her. "And we intended to…but orders from the emperor prevented us from acting on our plans before he left with Princess Shamara again. He did not tell you that this is his child, did he?"

Trynity honestly couldn't say that he did. "I just assumed…"

"Lord Apolo is the child's father!" Larya suddenly wailed. She grabbed Trynity's shoulders. "He won't believe me! He thinks I am trying to trap him because I cannot have Lord Duo. Duo can't make him listen to reason! I don't know what I am going to do!"

Her own life was such a mess that Trynity didn't know what to say. But she suddenly understood the strange behavior Apolo had been exhibiting towards women. When she had been on Calabria before, Apolo had never been without a woman to keep him company and wait on him as if it were her greatest pleasure. And he had amply rewarded them for their loyalty. But Trynity hadn't seen him with a woman since she had arrived and his remarks about women indicated he had a thorn stuck in his backside. Was this the thorn?

"I don't think he can ever forgive my past," whimpered Larya. She grabbed Trynity's hands and as she met her eyes, Trynity was quite gratified to see that Larya was not nearly as pretty with swollen red eyes. She guessed the other woman didn't show that side of herself too often. "I had to protect myself any way that I could. When Trey banished me to the pirate satellite, I did the best that I could, which was accepting Newt's protection. That man was a loathsome creep, and I swore I would take the first chance I got to rid myself of him. When Duo arrived at the satellite, I knew he was my means to escape. He was a close friend of the emperor and an imperial guard of renowned skill..."

"I really don't want to hear this," mumbled Trynity.

Larya ignored her. "I thought he was perfect until I realized he was moping over his lost love. I realized I had to use dirty tricks, so I borrowed one from the empress herself. After all, everyone knows she did not consult Emperor Trey before bearing his precious first princess. What I didn't know was that Duo would dare to deny my child after all the effort I had gone through to get him to do his part."

Trynity was starting to feel faint, either from lack of food or from serious embarrassment. "Are you finished?"

She wasn't. "Fortunately for me, Trey is a forgiving man and he believed me. Although Duo wanted nothing to do with our son, Trey treated him with all the respect and love he would give any acknowledged child of his friend. He also appointed me as governor of the first moon. Many of the people on my moon are former slaves with backgrounds similar to my own. We have made a peaceful life there."

"I'm hungry," Trynity pointed out.

"But it's not enough for me!" Larya wiped away her tears. "I knew what was missing from my life the moment Apolo walked into it."

Trynity raised a brow. "Was that the first time, when you were seducing him into letting down his guard so that you could kidnap his sister and her innocent infant child?"

Larya pretended not to hear her though Trynity noticed she flinched when reminded of one of her dastardly past deeds. "He does not believe that there is nothing between Duo and I."

"You must have given him good cause to think so." Her stomach growled.

Larya chose not to tell her why Apolo had good cause not to believe her. "You haven't eaten much in many days since you came here. Perhaps you are ready now."

What a time to think of her comfort! She was dying of curiosity, but Trynity did not ask Larya for fear that the other woman would start confiding even more intimate details. Was she actually jealous of this woman? While he had become a man wise to the wiles of a women, the Duo Maxwell that Larya had wrapped around her finger on the pirate satellite many years ago must have been way out of his league with her.

Not wanting to dwell on possible details, she put it from her mind as she followed Larya through a labyrinth of corridors until they finally reached the patio looking out over the Guerani Hills. Sitting at a table, Apolo was reading what appeared to be a dispatch, recognizing Trey's seal, Trynity knew the papers engrossing his attention must be official.

He looked over them, and his gaze zeroed in on Larya first. Trynity knew she was right, that Larya was his thorn. His eyes narrowed for a moment, but when he looked from her to Trynity, his handsome features relaxed, and he tossed the papers aside and left the table to greet her.

"Trynity! I am so delighted that you have decided to join me!" He took her hands and kissed the knuckles on both before drawing her to the table. He hardly spared Larya a glance as he said, "Get some food for our guest. And while you are in the kitchen, send someone else to serve us while you make arrangements for the day. The meal on my table last night was barely palatable, so I hope you can manage to put together something that won't make me and my guests prefer death to starvation over what you serve."

Larya's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment and Trynity saw a spark of anger in her eyes, but she merely said, "Yes, my lord." Then she hurried away.

Trynity glanced at Apolo who had already picked up the missive from the emperor and was flipping through it. "You were a little harsh with her, weren't you?"

He looked over the papers at her. "I know what she told you." Of course he did, because he had invaded her personal thoughts with his touch. Trynity should have been more careful in allowing him to touch her. "She is a consummate liar, you know. That child is Duo's. She planned to conceive it and I assure you that he was very much in agreement. They were taking a break form their reproductive activities when I arrived with orders from Trey."

"What makes you think I want to hear this?" asked Trynity with annoyance. She was wondering whom to believe now. Apolo was just as adamant as Larya. He was about to say more when she put up her hand. "I don't want to know any more. The three of you are disgusting! Each of you deserves exactly what you get out of this bizarre arrangement."

Apolo lowered his head and turned his full attention back to the papers. A servant arrived several moments later with a tray of food that Trynity attacked with surprising gusto. While she preferred the fruits and bread, she managed to choke down a bit of the unidentifiable hash that she suspected was a concoction of various creepy crawlers. Remarkably enough, even that did not make her stomach knot. Perhaps she was getting over the worst of her pregnancy.

Finished, she sat back against her chair and turned her attention to Apolo. He folded the papers and set them aside. "That must be very important."

"Just an order of execution for the Camridaen bastard causing such trouble both here and on the second moon. One of his followers tried to sneak into the palace with the intention of assassination. Trey believes, and I agree with him, that Shamara and Dagan must be protected at all costs."

"Do you believe they are the salvation of the gods?" asked Trynity, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

He frowned at her. "Of course I do! And even if you do not, surely you can understand how a fanatic could believe that by causing their deaths, he would be rewarded by Camridaeus himself."

Trynity wasn't going to get anywhere by arguing with him. "Lady Larya relayed your message. I assume we shall be going out to the village."

"Yes. I have had reports of several deaths, and dozens of injuries. I would appreciate your help in treating them."

"Will Shamara be helping us?"

He shook his head. "I think that she and Dagan are in a trance. I spoke to them last night, but they seemed far away."

Trynity laughed. "They are on their honeymoon. I'm sure their thoughts are only for each other and their future."

"If the threat of Camridaeus is not dealt with, there will be no future."

"A rather dire prediction based on belief in gods that may not exist at all. From what Shamara has said, even the original gods were merely highly advanced people from Bayman who took advantage of the ignorant savages on Calabria."

Apolo sighed. "You refuse to understand our ways, Trynity. What you don't realize is that those highly advanced people from Bayman were endowed with remarkable powers that even today do not exist on Bayman. Is it so difficult for you to understand that the spirit of a god could dwell inside of a mortal being?"

"If you are talking about Dagan, I am wondering if his powers aren't merely clever tricks taught to him by Master Nazzar in order to perpetuate the myth." Trynity made a sound of disgust. "As for Shamara, she has merely tapped a strength that any being could with some practice. There is even evidence in human society that people have been able to heal with touch. Granted, they are few and far between, but they have existed." She leaned closer to Apolo. "Where did you receive your powers?"

"My healing power is innate. I received it from my mother who received it from her dying father."

"Was she dying when she passed her power onto you? A traditional belief that supernatural powers are passed down at that mysterious moment when one leaves this plane of existence can be a powerful inducement to one's mind." Trynity was thinking of all the research she had done on such healing, and she had done much since she had been released from Quatre's psychotic control by his death in space. Although the power was rare, it certainly was not unique to the Guerani of Calabria.

"Then you could explain why Shamara has the gift although I did not bestow it upon her at my death."

"But such a moment existed between you if I remember correctly. Arora did say that you breathed life into her newborn infant."

"That was the first moment I became aware of my power," he told Trynity. "When I held her lifeless body in my hands, I felt an urge that was more powerful than I can ever describe. A strong warmth came from within as I breathed into her, and she came to life in my hands."

Trynity waved her hand dismissively. "That strong urge is caused by a rush of adrenaline, a hormone that forces the body to react. You could not let her die."

"Why not?" He raised his brow. "What use was she to us? Arora was furious that I had saved the female's life. She had intended to bear a son, but because a female had not raised her, she did not know exactly how to go about ensuring the gender of her child. At least that is what I believed at the time."

"And now you believe differently?" Trynity laughed derisively. "Now I suppose you believe the gods had chosen the sex of her child so that she could ultimately mate with the already born Prince Dagan."

Apolo nodded. "That is exactly what I believe. They would not allow her to die and directed me to save her."

"I see there is no convincing you otherwise." Trynity sighed. "Then you would not help me to learn your healing powers?"

"I will guide you best as I can, but I doubt the gods will grant you any power."

"I don't need the help of the gods," she retorted angrily. "I am a healer, and I know I can do it!"

The ride to the village took almost an hour during which time Trynity suffered through Apolo's incessant proselytizing about his gods. She gave up any logical argument she had because Apolo had no intention of listening to reason. Instead of listening, she tried to enjoy the sunshine, warm breeze and fresh air. Although her backside was sore from the unaccustomed travel on horseback not to mention the pain in the butt that wouldn't stop prattling about imagined deities, she enjoyed the trip through the Wasteland countryside. When it came to an end at the village that smoldered from recently extinguished fires, she put aside any thoughts of her own enjoyment. 

The religious fanatic's followers had almost completely destroyed the village. The bodies of the dead were already laid out, and the wails of the grieving combined with the moans of pain and agony. Some of Apolo's people had already come to the village and were giving aid under a white tent erected to shade the injured from the suns. Trynity had never worked in such primitive conditions, and the agony of the injured was almost more than she could bear, but she did what she could by applying bandages and comforting those merely suffering from the shock of losing their homes and loved ones. Apolo stayed near her, offering her words of encouragement that she found annoying at first but later grew thankful. She witnessed his healing power more than once, and each time she tried to determine how he managed to cure some very serious injuries.

As she watched him now lay his hands on a dying woman whose small children sobbed hysterically around her, she was surprised that the woman stopped her fight for life and lay back calmly as death overtook her. Apolo said a prayer over her before he stood away from the lifeless body and turned to place his hands on a shoulder of both her children. For a moment they continued to cry, then peace seemed to descend on them. One of Apolo's people took the children away.

"Why did you let her die?" asked Trynity, looking from Apolo to the dead woman.

He rubbed his eyes before looking at her. She could see that the healing process was exhausting to him. "The gods called her. I knew the moment I touched her that she would go. She remained only long enough to be assured that her children could be cared for."

"And you conveyed that to her through your touch?"

"And I allowed them to know that she was at peace in her new life."

"You should have done something to save her present life so that she could raise her children," grumbled Trynity.

He raised a brow. "Is that the root of your anger towards the gods? Do you not realize that the mother that was taken from you when you were an infant has been with you ever since?"

"You're ridiculous!" But he had struck a nerve deep inside her. Trynity had no conscious memory of her mother, and yet in her dreams she sometimes heard her voice singing a lullaby, or felt her kiss on her cheek.

Apolo sighed. "You cannot see her, but I can. She will be with you always."

Disgusted, she stomped away and threw herself back into her work. For what remained of the afternoon, she helped as best she could, and when the first sun had set, Apolo came to her as she bandaged a small child that sat in her lap. She was exhausted, filthy and hungry but she concentrated on the whimpering child in her lap. The little girl wasn't seriously injured, yet the burns up and down her arm were painful.

She noticed Apolo watching her. "I put some salve on her arm which should help the healing. I wish I could do something for the pain."

"You can." He took her hands and laid them on the bandaged arm. The little girl sobbed, and Trynity tried to pull her hands away, but Apolo covered them. "Close your eyes. Put yourself in her. Feel her pain. Become one with her."

"I can't!" The girl was squirming, trying to escape the touch that was no doubt stinging her mercilessly.

"You must," murmured Apolo. "Believe that you can do it, Trynity. Now close your eyes." Despite her skepticism, she did as said. "Put yourself in her. Feel her pain. Become one with her." She tried to imagine what he said, but she shifted with frustration that nothing happened. "Relax, Trynity. Put yourself in her. Feel her pain. Do you feel the fire?"

Trynity began to feel dizzy and faint, and she could smell smoke. She opened her eyes and saw only a blurry, smoky haze. No longer in the makeshift infirmary in the village, she realized she was hiding beneath a bed watching flames shoot out from under a door.

__

"Orya, where are you?"

She couldn't answer because when she opened her mouth to do so, she breathed in smoke and fell into a fit of coughing. The noise must have alerted her father. The door to the room crashed open, and a wave of flames crashed through, engulfing both her and her father. Strong arms pulled her from beneath the bed, and she was swung in the air. The flames licked at her, catching her clothing and burning the length of her arm.

"Remember," a voice whispered to her from the void. "You are not her. Make her one with you. Return to yourself."

Almost instantly, Trynity realized where she really was as unfamiliar warmth rolled through her and out her hands. The little girl was no longer crying, and opening her eyes, Trynity saw that Apolo was smiling.

"So you were right, Dr. Nelson. You are a healer."

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She felt very weak and emotionally drained, and her arm tingled from the burns the little girl had suffered. "I…I couldn't do that again today."

"Of course not. You must begin slowly, and with practice you will learn to do it faster, and with less injury to yourself. You will also learn to recognize when the gods have the final say." He grinned at her. "Shall I tell you a sure method of quick recovery?"

She absently combed her fingers through the little girl's hair. "I would appreciate it since I doubt I could stand up and walk at this moment."

Apolo leaned in close to her so that his lips were hovering over hers and she could feel his warm breath blow across them. Normally such close contact would make her freeze, but she found his nearness pleasant. "An offering of thanks to the gods, and since you do not believe in them, I have found that a close second is the celebration of life in the attempt to create it."

Trynity jerked back before he could kiss her. The little girl giggled and asked for her papa. Grateful for the intrusion, she ignored the chuckling Guerani healer and managed to stand. The girl took her hand, and Trynity accompanied her as she zigzagged through the many displaced villagers in search of her family. They hadn't gotten far when Trynity heard a shout from the lookout man that was riding fast toward the remains of the village. Behind him appeared to be a dozen men on horseback, whooping and letting out bloodcurdling cries. The wounded and despondent villagers scattered in many directions, screaming with terror. The scout was cut down before he reached the village. Trynity heard Apolo shouting out orders to his men engaging the marauders who were clothed in black from head to toe. Only their eyes were visible, and they were the eyes of fanatics.

Her first thought was for the child's safety, but Trynity didn't know where the girl's family was. The frightened child suddenly jerked her hand away from Trynity and started to run haphazardly, shouting for her papa. Trynity chased after her, then saw that one of the attackers noticed them and turned his horse in pursuit. She reached the girl just as the man thrust out his sword, and she tackled her and rolled away as the sword buried in the ground where the girl had been. Trynity was furious that he would attack an unarmed, injured child. Catching sight of a man trying to nock an arrow to a hunting bow, she quickly dragged the girl to him, grabbed the bow and arrow from his shaking hands and spun to face the attacker who had turned his horse around to come in for another charge.

The man behind her shrieked and ran away, not even taking the child with him. The little girl threw herself at Trynity's legs, locking her arms around them and almost making her lose her balance. Even if she wanted to run, she couldn't now. Instead, she raised the bow, nocked the arrow and waited until he was close enough to cause the most damage. Before she released the arrow, she heard the pounding of hooves, the clanging of steel behind her and a charge of heat and electricity before the awful crunch of a body. The arrow released and flew straight to its target. 

His body fell, the arrow protruding from the back and front of his skull, but the horse continued its charge forward. Trynity realized she was going to be trampled the little girl along with her until she felt an arm around her waist and she was suddenly in the air, the ground moving rapidly beneath her. The girl was slipping from her, but suddenly that burden was gone as well when another rescuer snatched her in midair before she could hit the ground.

The horse slowed enough for her own rescuer to leave her safely to the ground, and she turned to thank him only for find herself staring up at Duo's face. She had never seen him like this before, white-faced and absolutely livid. Before she could speak, he shouted down at her. "What the hell are you doing here? And what were you trying to prove back there?"

She was taken aback by his anger and her own rose in response. "I was trying to save that little girl!" Trynity spun to find Taeron lowering the little girl to the ground. The girl ran towards Trynity who was glad someone was grateful for her help, but she continued past her shouting for her papa, and Trynity watched as a sobbing man swung her up in his arms. That left her with Duo as Taeron returned back to what was shaping up to be a rout by the newly arrived troop from the second moon.

Duo glanced around to see that his men were rounding up what remained of the attackers, and seeing that he was not needed, turned his attention back to Trynity. "You could have been killed!"

She almost was, but she didn't say so. Something inside her rebelled against his tone. Trynity wasn't a little girl or a weak female and she resented him treating her as if she were. "I wasn't killed."

"Thanks to me!"

That much was true. "Well, I guess since you've given yourself the thanks, there's no need for me to add to it." She turned and stalked away, swearing under her breath. Duo had become a complete Neanderthal. Where did he get off treating her like this when she could have easily kicked the snot out of him? Well, maybe that was quite a few years ago, but still, didn't she deserve some kind of respect?

She didn't realize he was silently following her until she came upon Apolo who was uninjured but obviously exhausted and shaken from the ordeal.

Apolo looked past Trynity to Duo. "You arrived at a most opportune time."

Duo snorted. "So I have _you_ to thank from dragging Trynity out here? I noticed that you did not have enough men to adequately guard the village, nor did you anticipate the marauders would return despite their penchant for doing so."

"I guess I am out of practice with such tactical decisions," said Apolo sheepishly. "I left most of my men behind to guard the palace."

"Let me know the next time you feel like wandering off on a mission of mercy," snapped Duo. "And _I_ will make the tactical decisions."

Trynity frowned at Apolo. "Are you going to let him talk to you like that?"

"Yes."

She turned back to see that Duo was looking rather smug that he had won that round. Before she could come up with some scathing remark to cut him down, Stryfe arrived and jumped off his own horse.

"Mom, you're still alive! Of course, I never doubted Lord Duo would get to you in time to kill that bastard coming up behind you, but I thought you were a goner with that horse until he snatched you up." Stryfe slapped Duo on the back. "I've only seen that kind of thing on an action adventure virtual game."

Trynity gritted her teeth as she realized what had been going on behind her back as she concentrated on killing the man on the horse. Apparently Duo had saved her life twice in the span of a couple of minutes. It was galling to be in his debt, especially when he now preened under Stryfe's praise.

"Where is Quynn?" she suddenly snapped for lack of anything to say.

"I told her to remain back with Amyr."

"He thinks he's protecting her," commented Taeron as he dismounted. "I should get back to them before Amyr realizes it's the other way around."

Stryfe snorted with laughter. "I'll come with you. By now they are at blows."

"Quynn has probably already drawn first blood," Trynity heard Taeron comment as they walked away leading their horses.

"It's getting late," snapped Duo.

"We stayed out too long," admitted Apolo.

Trynity was annoyed that Apolo acted like a whipped dog around Duo. Someone had to defend them. "There were people who still needed our help! Did you think we could actually leave them knowing they were still suffering?"

Duo grunted. "I suppose not!" He turned his attention back to Apolo. "We should head back now. My men are tired and hungry, and there is nothing more to be done here."

"There are more injured…" started Trynity, but Duo cut her off.

"Apolo's people can care for them. You're going back to the palace with me." He grabbed her arm and yanked her along with him to his horse.

"Let me go!" She tried to struggle from his grasp, but it was in vain until she realized he would have to relax his hold to mount his giant horse. But Trynity underestimated his strength. With only one foot in a stirrup, he managed to leap onto the animal and haul her into the air with him. She was scared witless until he seemed to effortlessly settle her in front of him on his lap.

Duo shouted a few orders to his men before spurring his horse forward. She tried to wriggle out of his embrace but found it impossible. "I can ride on my own," she pointed out.

"I know you can," he responded with a soft laugh. "But I like this arrangement better."

She was sitting so close against him that she could feel exactly how much he enjoyed it. "You are a pig!"

"No, just a man."

"Humph! And I thought you had been elevated to that status of a god!" Trynity wished there were some way to get away from him. He was far too warm, and although he smelled of horse and leather and sweat from his day under the sun, it was far from unpleasant. It made her dizzy with feelings she didn't want to have for him.

"I haven't done anything any imperial guard couldn't do."

Any further discussion was halted by the arrival of Quynn, Stryfe, Taeron and the crowned prince. The four of them were stone silent, none of them looking at each other as they rode. Trynity wondered what had happened but it would have to wait until she could question Quynn when they returned.

"I shouldn't have left them alone," murmured Duo under his breath.

"I'm sure they had an argument," said Trynity.

"I doubt it. If you hadn't been holed up in your room, you would have seen the sparks flying between them."

Trynity didn't like his veiled accusation that she was a neglectful mother. Yes, she had been holed up, but she spoke to Quynn every day. "Quynn isn't a fool. Amyr is the crowned prince of Calabria, and she is…"

"My daughter," finished Duo. "If he has dishonored my house, I will be forced to take action."

"She isn't part of your house," Trynity reminded him.

Duo's arms stiffened around her. "She is a part of my house. I have publicly claimed both her and Stryfe. They are acknowledged members of my family."

"How dare you do such a thing!" Trynity was furious that he would do it without speaking to her first.

"I dare because they are mine." He was rigid behind her, and Trynity heard the angry resentment in his retort. "That is something you cannot change no matter how hard you have tried."

She wanted to argue with him that it wasn't true, that she hadn't tried to change who they were, but she knew it was a lie. All those years she had been so angry and hurt about being left alone that she tried to make herself believe what Stryfe and Quynn had - that Lars was their father. Trynity had allowed Lars to replace Duo in all ways, but it did not change who Stryfe and Quynn really were. But Trynity wasn't going to apologize to the bastard who bailed out of the relationship in an escape pod.

They continued on in silence for several minutes during which time he relaxed his grip, as he seemed to have wrestled his own demons and succeeded in locking them away. Unfortunately, since she wasn't arguing with Duo, Trynity had nothing else to do but think about how strong he was, and that made her feel uncomfortable in a pleasant way. She credited it to the fact that she was tired and hungry and weak from the events of the day. She noticed that all the riders in the group headed back to the palace were weary.

Suddenly she felt Duo's warm breath on her neck, making her hair tickle her. "Your hair smells good," he remarked.

She shivered, and brushed the hair back. "I wish I could say the same for you."

"When we get back, you can give me a bath, and make my hair smell as good as yours."

"Humph! Well, you'll have to call Larya to help you because she did my hair." Trynity didn't like the image of her helping Duo with his bath because there were far too many opportunities to indulge in activities that would be a mistake. She couldn't believe she was having these thoughts when she knew she wasn't good enough for him. She had to keep him at a distance. After what had happened with Quatre, she knew that what they had wouldn't be the same. 

"I knew I recognized that scent," he commented with a chuckle. "I'd like to know how that came about."

"I don't want to talk about it!" Trynity was still annoyed by Larya's shameless invasion of her privacy.

He ignored her. "I suppose she cried on your shoulder."

"You are a jerk!" She twisted her head to look at him. She couldn't believe Duo could say something so flippant about Larya. "Is she carrying your child?"

"Did she say that I was?"

"Answer the question! I want to know which of you three nitwits is lying." Trynity didn't want to hear that Duo was the father of Larya's child, but she mentally prepared herself for it.

"None of us is lying. Apolo doesn't want to believe the truth because he refuses to believe that a woman like Larya has hopelessly snagged him. As for me, I won't say one way or the other until she reels him in, because if she fails, I will claim her child. I owe her that much."

Trynity wanted to retort that he certainly did owe her something for the years she had spent raising Taeron on her own, but the sheer magnitude of his chivalry hit her head on. "Do you know for a certainty that the child isn't yours?" she asked.

"I'm suspecting you want to hear me say no, but I won't. Larya and I have never had a particularly memorable relationship, and if it weren't for Taeron, what happened between us would have been easily and quickly forgotten. I admit that I was on the verge of accepting her proposal to have another child together when Apolo arrived with orders from Trey. Maybe I was annoyed that Apolo intruded on my privacy and so obviously wanted to seduce the woman in my bed when I hadn't even gotten any closer than ten feet from it. And although I knew that Larya had done whatever preparations these Calabrian females do to ensure pregnancy, I decided not to warn him of our plans. I suppose he never gave Larya a chance to say anything either. I knew she was furious with both of us, so after I left I felt a little guilty, believing that I had allowed her to be manipulated again. But when I returned to Calabria, the two couldn't keep their hands off each other. Now he has the nerve to reject her. I'd like to give him a richly deserved beating, but Larya would never forgive me. Have I answered your question?"

Trynity couldn't decide if she liked the answer. She was much safer in not speaking to him anyway and was glad that the uneasy silence between them continued until they returned to the palace. Women swarmed into the courtyards to greet their returning men as well as other servants who rushed to take the horses from the tired soldiers. Trynity tried to jump off Duo's horse, but he caught her arm in order to lower her carefully to the ground.

"I didn't save you so that you could break your neck here," he said.

Trynity glared at him but didn't respond before stalking past the annoying young woman who had set her sights on Duo. Naiya glared at her, then hurried to offer whatever service she thought Duo might need. Trynity didn't need to guess what was at the top of list. Larya was standing serenely inside the entrance hall like the queen of the palace, and although she looked as if she wanted to speak to Trynity, Trynity headed directly away from her. She could hear Larya call out her name, then her footsteps behind her, and she contemplated slamming the door of her bedchamber in her face, but she managed to control her temper long enough for Larya to enter.

The other woman was almost out of breath because of the swift progress Trynity had made to her room. "I heard about the attack on the village. I hope that you were unharmed."

"Not a scratch," she said through gritted teeth.

Larya was wringing her hands as she stared at Trynity. "I…I saw you riding with Lord Duo. Did you have a chance…?"

If they both weren't pregnant, she would sock the beautiful Calabrian woman. "I spoke to him. He told me everything. I'm not going to pretend to understand what goes through your head, or his for that matter, but I will not stand in your way. Both Apolo and him are yours for the taking."

Larya gasped with exasperation. "I don't want Lord Duo!"

Trynity couldn't take standing in the same room as her any longer. She grabbed Larya's arm and marched her to the door. "This and any future discussions between us are at an end! Untangle the mess you have made on your own."

Larya stopped her from shutting the door, and she peered at Trynity through the crack. "You don't need to be jealous of me. I have no interest at all in your man."

Disgusted, Trynity slammed the door shut not carrying if she crushed the other woman's delicate fingers or not. She paced for several minutes trying to calm her nerves, and when she was finally relaxed enough to think clearly, she remembered that she wished to speak to Quynn. Before opening the door to the corridor, she listened for any sign that there were others about, and hearing none, she ducked out and walked quickly down the hall to Quynn's room. 

She knocked. "It's me, Quynn."

The door opened, and Trynity saw that Quynn had already bathed and wrapped in a bathrobe. "Mom! Aren't you going to get ready for supper? I had hoped you would eat with everyone else since you appeared to be feeling better today."

Trynity sat down on the bed. "I am feeling better, but I don't know if I feel up to…"

Quynn snorted. "Mom, I think you can sit at a table with Lord Duo. You sat on his lap all the way back here. I know you were talking."

"We were not talking! We were arguing. He is a jerk!"

"Stryfe and Taeron told me he saved your life." Quynn picked up the gown she was planning to wear. Trynity noted that it was Calabrian in style, and the color would suit her perfectly.

"Where did you get that?" She hoped Quynn wasn't borrowing clothing from Larya also.

Quynn turned away as she slipped on the gown. "Lord Duo bought me some clothing."

Trynity took a breath to calm her anger, then said, "Quynn, why did you let him make you a part of his Calabrian house?"

Her daughter spun around to look at her. "Thank you, mother, for providing us with a family and a loving father. But I am his daughter, and I've become damn proud of it. I'm just glad he doesn't hold your stupid foibles against us!"

She resisted the urge to cry. "I'm sorry, Quynn."

Quynn sat down beside her on the edge of the bed, and she reached over to take Trynity's hands. "You shouldn't let it bother you, mom. It's water under the bridge."

Not for me, she thought miserably. She remembered her original purpose in coming to see her daughter. "Quynn, did something happen between you and Amyr?"

For a moment, Quynn didn't answer, then she said, "I don't know what happened. One minute we were arguing, and the next we were rolling around in the grass. If Taeron and Stryfe hadn't returned when they did, I don't know how it would have turned out. I guess I just lost my head."

Trynity wasn't sure if she should offer Quynn any advice, but she did know it was time for some motherly warnings. "You must be very careful with Prince Amyr. He is the crowned prince of the empire."

Quynn rolled her eyes. "I know that, mom."

"I doubt he is free to marry…"

"Mom! I am not going to marry a jackass like that! He's a selfish, spoiled brat."

"I doubt you thought about that when you were rolling around in the grass with him."

"We had a little fun. So what? You didn't get on my back about what went on between me and Chaz, or me and Zieben, or me and any other guy I dated."

"The situation is different now. You are a member of Duo's house. He may be from our system, but he has become a Calabrian and lives by their rules. If Amyr dishonors you, Duo would be obligated to find a way to restore the honor to his house."

Quynn stared at her with a frown.

Trynity sighed. "Do you understand? Either Taeron, Stryfe or himself might have to Amyr to regain the honor of the house or you would have to marry him."

"Are you kidding?" Quynn plainly didn't believe her.

"He already mentioned it to me on the way back here. He suspects there is something going on between you, and I warn you not to doubt his resolve in maintaining the honor of his house."

Quynn stood. "Well, you can tell him not to draw his sword. I can prove that I haven't dishonored his house."

Trynity was relieved. "For everybody's sake, do your best to keep it that way while you are on Calabria."

Quynn walked her to the door. "Don't worry, mom. Today was a mistake I don't intend to let happen again."

As she stepped into the corridor, Trynity was remembering how she had the same thoughts after the first time she had been with Duo on the beach of that deserted island. But virtually the next time she had been alone with him, she had lost her resolve, and after that she just gave up. She hoped Quynn had better self-control than she ever had.

So engrossed in her thoughts of the past, Trynity almost bumped into someone who entered the corridor from the room across the hall from her own. She was about to apologize for her clumsiness when she realized it was Naiya, and the girl was soaking wet with a self-satisfied smile on her lips which only increased when she saw Trynity.

"I was helping Lord Duo with his bath," she said with a toss of her wet hair.

"Good! I noted that he needed one. Send someone to tell me when he is finished so that I might take one myself."

"Oh, he's finished." Naiya laughed as she spun and walked away with a spring to her step.

Trynity turned to glare at the door to what she presumed was Duo's room, then she reminded herself that he could do what pleased. She had no claim on him, and she had no right to be jealous. She wasn't jealous! She simply didn't care if he bathed with women half his age!

Someone slammed the door to her bedchamber, and someone tore through her clothing to find something to wear, but it couldn't have been her. She wasn't jealous!

She chose something Larya had left for her, then went to bathe. The room was empty and tidied, but as she scrubbed herself, Trynity caught herself imagining what immoral behavior had been going on. By the time she finished, she was steaming. The sooner she got away from Calabria and Duo Maxwell, the happier she would be.

When she entered the dining hall, Stryfe came to greet her. "Mom, you look great! Lord Duo thought you would spend the night curled up in your bed after what happened today, but I knew you were made of stronger stuff than that."

Trynity glanced across the room where Duo stood with Quynn clinging to his arm as he was talking to Apolo. "He doesn't know me as well as he thinks he does."

She didn't have a chance to talk to Duo at all during the meal because several chieftains from the foothills had come to discuss the protection of their villages. Trynity was extremely annoyed to find herself seated near Larya who persisted in chatting with her as if she were a confidante despite the fact that Trynity did no more than grunt in response or give her a dose of muttered sarcasm. She talked about how happy Shamara and Dagan were to be shut away from the world in their own wing of the palace. She had spent time with them in the afternoon during which time Shamara expressed her hope that Trynity was feeling better. Then Larya chattered on about how her duties kept her busy, but she enjoyed the work. Trynity didn't answer any of the questions she asked about the afternoon, but Larya did not stop pestering her. Despite all that she had heard of Larya, Trynity was beginning to think she was an empty-headed wench not much better than the empty-headed wench now leaning over Duo to re-fill his soup bowl. Naiya blatantly rubbed herself against him, and Duo pretended not to notice as he spoke to the gruff old chieftain next to him, but he did glance at the girl as she walked away.

"If I had any say," hissed Larya in Trynity's ear, "I would toss that little whore out the door, but she is the daughter of the man sitting to the right of Lord Apolo."

Trynity looked at Larya. "She is a chieftain's daughter?"

"It is customary to send females to work in the great houses. There they have a chance of being seen by eligible men. These backward chieftains just want to get rid of females they still see as a burden to their houses. Many send their daughters to Lord Apolo because he seems to work magic in finding them suitable mates."

"Before or after he helps himself?" asked Trynity sarcastically.

"He has never been challenged, so I believe he has behaved honorably with those entrusted in his care."

Trynity laughed. "I do believe you are naïve, Lady Larya. He has not been challenged because he is the brother of the emperor's wife and because he ends his affairs with a satisfactory match for the dishonored female."

"I will not believe that!" Visibly upset by Trynity's revelation, Larya tossed down her napkin and stood. "I need some air."

Trynity watched her escape through open doors to the garden, and she thought the woman had gone unnoticed except that Duo suddenly left his own seat and followed her out. The meal finally came to an end and the tables where cleared and carried away to make room for the entertainment of traveling musicians Trynity remembered from her brief stay at the emperor's palace. Their show hadn't changed or gotten any better, so Trynity soon grew bored. She noticed during the performance that Larya returned, but Duo remained outside. Trynity kept looking at the door watching for his return, and when he did not, she realized this might be her best opportunity to talk to him about Quynn.

She left the hall through the same doors to the garden and was glad to see that the two moons were not obscured by clouds so they provided good lighting for her to follow a smooth, stone path through the thick vegetation. Trynity still could not believe this was the same place that had once been the epitome of any culture's hell. The Wastelands had transformed beautifully into a paradise.

Duo was near a pond sitting on a fallen tree, tossing rocks into the shimmering water. She thought she was being quiet as she approached, but his senses were keener than she could ever imagine. "What are you doing out here, Trynity?" He hadn't even turned around!

"How did you know it was me?" she demanded. She didn't want to believe he possessed any superhuman powers.

He turned his head to look at her. "I could say I recognized the pattern of your footsteps, or that I detected your scent on the breeze."

She was amazed. "That is unreal!"

"Yes it is." He chuckled. "Actually, I saw your reflection in the pond."

Trynity wanted to push him in the pond. "I hope you are amused."

"Very much so. However, I am not amused by the spiteful remarks you made to Larya."

She didn't like being scolded by him. "The woman is aggravating beyond belief! I thought I'd give her some insight into what her precious Lord Apolo is really like."

"He is an honorable man who has helped many women have better lives than they would have otherwise. He has never touched any of them."

"Is that so? What about his guests? Are they as honorable toward his foundlings." She folded her arms and raised a brow at him. "Did you enjoy your bath with Naiya this evening?"

Duo raised a brow too. "How did you know about that?"

"I ran into her in the hall. I hope she remembered to wash behind your ears."

Duo chuckled. "There were a lot of places she wanted to wash, but I'm not about to get trapped by her when her father is under the same roof."

"How did she get all wet?" Trynity didn't believe him.

"She slipped and fell in the pool before I even entered the bath chamber. At least that is what Larya told me and I have yet to hear Taeron back her on that point. They were both with me and can attest to my innocence. Taeron was there to tell me about Quynn and Amyr and Larya - well Larya came to whine about her life, although she did scrub my back for which I was grateful."

"She didn't wash your hair?"

He laughed and ran a hand through his long hair. "You know I don't let just anyone handle my hair."

She looked away from him to the water of the pond. He looked away too, and for a moment they were silent, then he tossed a pebble into the water, and they both watched the ripples spread out. Finally, she said, "Quynn wants you to know there is no reason for you to go after Amyr and that she will behave properly in the future when she is on Calabria."

"I can accept that. She can do as she pleases when she is not here. I doubt you or I could have much control over her anyway. She is every bit as independent and headstrong as you are."

Trynity opened her mouth to argue, but she realized it was pointless. He was right and they both knew it. "I trust her. I think she has learned her lesson."

He didn't say anything for a few moments, so she turned to look back at the pond. The water was calm and peaceful with only the reflections of the moons marking its shimmering surface. She knew she should go back into the palace and get away from Duo, but she couldn't make her feet move. She should tell him about the baby, but she couldn't find the words. She should turn around and put her arms around him, hoping to find the warmth that had been missing in her life for too long, but she couldn't bear either his acceptance or rejection.

She heard him move, then his hands were on her shoulders and his body was so close to hers that she could feel the heat. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest that she was sure he could hear it, and she had trouble breathing. Any moment now she expected to lose consciousness, and she didn't like feeling like a weak woman.

"I know you didn't want to come here," he said softly in her ear. As Duo gently massaged her shoulders, she closed her eyes and leaned back against him. This felt right, comfortable. "I love you, Trynity. We can get through this together, if you will only give us a chance."

__

"He doesn't love you! He never made you his wife despite the many opportunities. You've been nothing but his plaything."

Trynity tried to blot out Quatre's words, but she couldn't, just like she couldn't deny them when he said them to her.

__

"Do you think he'll ever forgive you? Why should he? He can get what he wants from you with a snap of his fingers. All he has ever done is use you."

She closed her eyes tightly and pressed her fingers to them.

__

"He doesn't want you anymore. Why should he? Why do you think he comes and goes whenever he wants? You are nothing to him."

Trynity shook her head, trying to clear her mind, but she couldn't.

__

"I want you, Trynity. I've fallen in love with you, and each day I fall further and further. You can love me, Trynity. I will take care of you. You will love me, too."

Trynity broke away from Duo, and she almost stumbled into the pond. Although he reached out to steady her, she managed to avoid a dunking and quickly step out of his reach. "I'm not feeling well."

"I understand."

He couldn't possibly understand, but she didn't say so. She hurried away, not even looking back to see if he followed. Before she reached the house, she had to empty her stomach, and she felt so weak and sick that she was afraid she couldn't get back to her room without assistance. Avoiding the dining hall, she managed to find another entrance and stumbled most of the way to her room where she threw herself across her bed.

She flung an arm across her eyes and let her tears soak the sleeve of her gown. The memories that came flooding back to her now were so painful that she was almost moved to find Shamara or Apolo and beg them to take them away. Memories of Lars, faithful and forgiving to a woman who could not give herself completely to him, of Quatre who had become so obsessed with her that he tried to destroy them all, and of Duo whom she could not forgive for the one decision he had made that affected them all forever. Her heart ached and her head pounded as memories came flooding to her from the darkest corners of her mind. 

Whether she fell asleep or just lost consciousness, Trynity didn't know, but she was awakened some time later by noises in the outer corridor as others sought their own beds. She rolled around and ignored them, preferring instead to return sleep. Although she was drowsy, she felt a breeze ruffle her hair and tickle her cheek from the open window, and she stirred realizing that someone was sitting on the edge of her bed. 

Trynity pushed herself up. "What are you doing here?" She was sure the silhouette belonged to Duo. "I can't be with you. Why do you refuse to understand that?"

When he reached out to lay his hand on her cheek, she was instantly aware that she had been mistaken. As the realization of his identity came to her, Trynity was turned to stone. "I'm so gratified that you are keeping away from him, my dearest Trynity."

She couldn't move as Quatre Winner came closer to her and moved his hand from her cheek, down her neck, then slipping under her nightgown.

"You have finally come to understand that you are my mine now, Trynity. I'm the only man who can understand you." His other hand slid up her back and slowly drew her closer to him. "I will help you, my love. I will kill him so that he doesn't come between us, just as I did that fool Nelson." His fingers slid into her hair and he drew her close so that her lips were under his. "Tell me again how much you want me, how much you need me. Tell me that you love me as much as I do you."

Trynity couldn't speak, couldn't move.

He brushed his lips over hers, then tilted his head to kiss her more fully. The shock of the intrusion of his tongue in her mouth made her spring into action. She swung out her hand, catching him full on the cheek. Quatre's head snapped back, and he reached up to wipe a drop of blood from his lip. She tried to move away, but he caught her and shoved her back on the bed. Trynity managed to wriggle away before he covered her with his own body, but he grabbed her ankle before she could escape. He jerked her back on the bed, and they rolled around in a struggle before he tired of the effort of trying to keep her subdued and pulled back his hand with the intention of striking her.

Trynity used all of her strength to throw him off and roll off the bed. When he became entangled in her blankets when he tried to follow, Trynity was able to reach the door and throwing it open, she stumbled across the hall. She was about to pound on the door to Duo's room when she saw him walking down the hall towards her. She dashed to him and grabbed his arm, and although she knew she sounded and probably looked like a hysterical madwoman, she managed to convey to him that there was a man in her room. She didn't dare tell him it was Quatre because he might think she was insane.

Finally understanding her, he opened the door to his room. "Wait here and I will check it out." From somewhere he produced his imperial sword.

Trynity closed the door to his chamber and leaned against it for a moment, dreading what might happen. She didn't know how Quatre was armed, and she regretted not telling Duo what he might be facing. Then she reminded herself that Duo had proven that he was perfectly capable of overcoming any hidden danger. Now she began to worry about herself. She was in Duo's bedchamber, and glancing toward his bed, she felt panic of a different sort beginning to develop. She couldn't trust herself with Duo.

Then she saw a movement on the bed, and she moved close enough to see a dark head move out from under the covers. Naiya sat up, and in rubbing her eyes, she let the blanket fall away to reveal that she was completely naked. When she blinked and focused on Trynity, she frowned and pulled the blanket back up to cover her. 

"I thought you were Lord Duo returning."

Trynity's nerves were tighter than a bowstring, so she certainly didn't need a confrontation with his whore. "He'll be back momentarily."

Naiya looked past her to the door, still frowning. "What do you want? Can't it wait until morning? My lord has other things on his mind."

The door opened and Duo stepped in. He didn't even look at Naiya. "There was no one in your room."

"Good, then she can go back." Naiya hopped from his bed and slipped on a flimsy, garment that barely covered her.

Duo's brows popped up in what appeared to be surprise. Maybe he wasn't expecting her to still be with him after they had concluded their business for the night.

Trynity started for the door, disgusted to be a part of this. "I'll go sleep with Quynn."

Duo grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving. "I want to talk to you."

"Let her go!" snapped Naiya. She was wringing her hands now as if she were nervous.

Duo glanced back at her. "She stays, and you go."

Naiya didn't budge. Trynity tried to shake off Duo's hold. "I didn't mean to intrude."

Suddenly a pounding at the door disturbed them, and outraged shouting in the corridor was surely going to wake everyone one in the wing. 

Duo looked back at Naiya. "Are you expecting someone, because I am not." Before she could answer, Duo swung open the door to reveal the man Larya had pointed out as Naiya's father accompanied by several angry-looking young men. "Ah, Lord Kandohr, I wasn't expecting to continue our conversation in my bedchamber."

The older man seemed startled to find him standing at the door, Trynity in his grasp. He looked past them to his daughter, and Trynity caught the silent communication between them. Duo had already guessed what was going on, but he was still as trapped as if she hadn't been there. "And I wasn't expecting to find my daughter here."

Others had gathered in the hall now, and Trynity saw Apolo pushing his way through the crowd.

"I wasn't expecting to find your daughter here, either."

Apolo seemed to understand instantly what was going on. He spared one scathing gaze for Naiya, then turned his attention to her father. "I am quite perplexed about this situation."

No one was really perplexed about the situation. It was an obvious attempt to trap Duo in marriage that had gone badly awry. If Trynity weren't still frightened over her encounter with Quatre, she might laugh.

Kandohr didn't seem to know what to do now. He turned his wrath on Trynity. "Who is this woman? What is she doing here?"

Well, she was the fly in the ointment and everyone knew it. Apolo pursed his lips together, but Trynity knew he was suppressing laughter. Trynity was about to introduce herself when Duo spoke.

"She is my wife."

"Your wife!" He was echoed by many angry as well as amazed voices . Trynity was so shocked she could not say anything.

Kandohr glared at his daughter.

Naiya burst out, "He's lying! I am more his wife than she is!"

Duo shot her a look that made her step back.

Kandohr turned on Trynity. "Is this true?"

Trynity opened her mouth to deny it, but she knew the consequence would be that Duo would be forced to take Naiya as his wife. She hoped Quynn was around taking notes about how rigid this ridiculous honor-bound culture was. As for Duo, he didn't even look at her. Although she would never admit it, when she was young and in the first stages of her first love, she imagined a wedding in which she wore a beautiful white gown like a princess, carrying a bouquet of - what else - thistles. And she would walk down the aisle to lay her hand on Duo's arm. They would say their vows, he would place his ring on her finger, and he would kiss her like he did the first time in the moonlight at the Stardust Ball.

This Calabrian tradition was completely devoid of any romance, and she certainly hadn't expected to be standing in a room wearing her nightgown with dozens of people staring at her as if she had two heads, waiting in breathless anticipation for her answer. Everyone but Duo. The least he could do was look at her with some sort of silent pleading, but he continued to stare defiantly at Kandohr as if he expected Trynity not to deny him. He deserved to have Naiya for his wife and the conniving Kandohr as his father-in-law! 

"Speak up, woman!" Kandohr was looking at her as if she were a lowly slut.

Trynity raised her chin. "I am his wife! And I am wondering what your daughter was doing in our bed."


	34. Old wounds reopened

****

Wasteland Palace, Calabria

Duo felt an urge to laugh at the surprised looks on everyone's faces. Trynity was standing her ground with green and yellow fire shooting from her eyes, daring anyone to contradict her. No one said anyone, but slowly, one by one, every man and woman present turned a condemning gaze on Naiya. The young woman's eyes were wide with surprise, and the color drained from her cheeks when her father turned his back on her. Without her father's support, she had become a cast off female, one without a house. She no longer had a claim to respectability. 

Apolo strode to her, and reaching down to grab her discarded clothing, he then took her arm and escorted her to Trynity. "You owe Lady Trynity an apology."

Naiya stood before her, now trembling with rage, but she said nothing.

Apolo released her only long enough to slap her face, then he yanked her toward the door. "You can entertain my men before I find a suitable brothel for you."

Kandohr's men quickly left with the old chieftain, not one of them making a move to save their chieftain's daughter. Nor did Naiya's father make an attempt to protect her from Apolo's punishment as he left without a backward glance. Based on what Duo had heard from Larya about how the young woman had harassed Trynity, he expected her to be pleased by the young woman's misfortune.

But Trynity stepped away from Duo and reached out to stop Apolo. "My lord, I hold no ill will towards this young woman. She is young and foolish. Please do not punish her so harshly."

Naiya spit at Trynity. "I don't need your intercession! I'd rather spend my days servicing soldiers than have to be in your debt!"

Apolo ignored her and looked at Trynity. "I have had requests for wives. One of those men will do for her if I can talk him into having her." Without further discussion, he dragged her out.

The crowd that had gathered quickly dispersed, returning to their beds to sleep for what remained of the night. Duo could see that Quynn and Stryfe were waiting to talk to their mother, and as soon as they could get to her, they both hugged her.

"What a day for you, mom!" cried Quynn with a laugh after kissing her cheeks. "Now I know why you were staying in your room! First you are almost killed, then you end up married!"

"I can't believe it!" Stryfe grabbed Duo's hand, shook it vigorously, and then hugged him. "We are a family now!"

By the look in Trynity's eyes, the family bond would last only as long as her feet were on Calabrian ground, and he didn't know how long that would be. He knew she had no intention of staying. Well, thought Duo with an inward sigh, he would just have to work on her. She had become so hardened by her experiences that he wondered if there was any hope of softening her this time. 

Seeing Taeron in the hall, Duo left Trynity with her son and daughter, and he pulled Taeron aside out of their hearing. "Did you find him?"

"I had his trail, but I lost it."

"How do you suppose he got out of the fortress?" Duo knew the answer before Taeron gave it.

"Same way he got in: he has help from inside. Do you suppose that whore Naiya helped him?"

Duo scratched his head before shaking it. "No, I think what happened here and in Trynity's room are unrelated. Naiya and her father didn't expect to be interrupted."

Taeron smiled at him. "Now you have the wife you desired."

Duo chuckled. "I'm not so sure this is a happy occasion."

"Well, at least she will be safe under your protection."

Duo glanced back at Trynity. She wasn't saying anything as Quynn and Stryfe prattled on and on about how happy they were. "Are you in agreement about the identity of her intruder?"

"I would recognize that rotting boreworm stench anywhere." Taeron hissed, "Quatre Winner."

Duo rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I was told he was dead."

"He seems to have acquired immortality."

"I should have killed him when I had the chance." Duo regretted not taking blood vengeance on the man. Next time Heero wouldn't be around to appeal for justice. The only justice Quatre Winner would receive would be the one Duo had intended for him in the first place. "Choose some men we can trust to watch over her. I don't want her out of their sights for a second. But don't let her know. She's too proud to admit she needs help."

Taeron nodded and left after one last pat on the back in way of congratulations. When Duo returned to his room, Quynn and Stryfe suddenly had no more to say, and they quickly left Duo alone with their mother.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, then Trynity said, "I saw you talking to Taeron. Did he find the intruder?"

He shook his head, wondering why she didn't refer to Quatre by name. For some reason, she didn't want him to know that she knew exactly who her attacker had been.

"I'm going to sleep with Quynn." She tried to go past him.

Duo prevented her from leaving by stepping in front of her. "You are not going to sleep with Quynn. I will be better able to protect you if you stay with me."

For once she did not argue, so he guessed that Trynity had chosen him as the lesser of two evils. "I suppose Quynn would be surprised if I showed up to sleep with her on my wedding night."

"She would be crushed." 

Trynity had the grace to look ashamed but recovered quickly to look coolly at him. "I will be your wife beyond those doors. I assure you, I am very good at acting. But I won't play the part in here!" She walked to the bed and climbed in, snapping the covers over herself and turning on her side away from him. 

Duo didn't expect anything more. He moved around to the other side of the bed, and after removing his clothes, he started to get in, but Trynity's frosty voice stopped him.

"What do you think you are doing?" She didn't even turn around.

"I'm going to sleep. I have a few hours before the sun rises and I have to leave. Don't worry, I'm not coming anywhere near you. This is a big enough bed that you won't know I'm here." He had no intention of touching the ice queen he had made his wife.

She jerked the blankets more firmly to her when he got into bed. After shutting off the light, he sighed and stared straight up into the darkness. He had no choice but to take Trynity's freedom in order to save himself from that manipulating young woman, Naiya. For a moment he had feared Trynity would not acknowledge him, and so Duo quickly mentally planned an escape from Calabria rather than remain to marry Naiya. She had been throwing herself at him for several days now, probably at the instigation of her father who hoped to marry her into an important house. Her earlier attempt to catch him in his bath had failed when Taeron accompanied him and Larya arrived to talk to him. Duo had been somewhat suspicious when her father cornered him to discuss the Camridaen fanatic when he had been on the way to his room for the night. The conversation had lasted only long enough for Naiya to get herself ready. Duo wondered if she had expected him to take her up on her so generous offer and just how Kandohr expected to find them. Either way it didn't matter anymore. Trynity was in his bed now, which was what he preferred.

Turning, he stared at her form across the bed from him. Watching her even breathing was comforting, and soon he fell asleep. It seemed like only seconds later, he jerked awake, and for a moment he was disoriented. He felt as if he were being held down, and he almost reached for the weapon he kept close by, his thoughts immediately of Quatre Winner. But he quickly realized that soft bare limbs imprisoned him. Opening his eyes, he barely moved as he glanced down to see that Trynity had flung an arm over his chest and one of her legs was intimately nestled between his as she draped herself half over his body. Her head rested on his shoulder and he could feel her warm breath on his neck.

This was way too good a thing to put an end to. Duo might just forget about getting up at all today. Taeron would gladly lead the men into the hills, although Duo knew some of the chieftains might question his priorities if he chose to lay in bed all day with his woman. He also knew that this pleasant scene wouldn't last once Trynity awoke. So Duo decided to compromise by allowing a few more minutes to pass, enjoying the luxury of holding her in his arms. Is this how she had slept with Lars? The thought was enough to put an end to this self-indulgence. Now he was left with the daunting task of getting out of bed without waking her.

The moment he tried to move, he felt her stiffen before she stretched, then she quickly skittered away from him. "Keep your hands off me!" she cried frantically as she pulled the sheet around her.

"I must have gotten carried away while I slept," he said under his breath as he left the bed. He noticed that Trynity burrowed quickly under the blankets, but he knew she wasn't sleeping. "If you go out with Apolo again today, please use a little more caution than you did yesterday."

Her head popped out from under the pillow and she sat up. Duo paused in dressing to look at her and his lips twitched as he struggled to keep from smiling. Her hair was impossibly tangled, and she had smudged makeup under her eyes. Yet she had never looked so good to him because he knew she was his wife. He wished he could get back into bed and do his best to thaw her out.

"I thought you might forbid me from leaving the palace."

He looked away as he finished dressing. "I have no reason to do so."

"What…what about that intruder?"

She still didn't want to admit that she had known it was Quatre. Duo debated asking her and chose not to. Trynity had her reasons to keep silent, and she would tell him when she was ready. "You will be safe. But if you are worried, stay at the palace. I think it was an isolated incident." He didn't tell her that such things did not occur on Calabria. The emperor's justice was every bit as unmerciful as his father's had been. As a consequence, few people committed any crime because the penalties were severe.

She lay back against the pillow. "I will probably stay near the palace today. I don't feel up to going out again."

Duo walked around the bed to her side and sat on the edge. He saw her eyes dart for an escape, but she didn't move. Duo reached up to push some of the hair from her face and she flinched. "I'm not going to say I am sorry how things turned out."

"If I thought you were that devious I would accuse you of trapping me," she muttered.

"You saved me," he continued, "and although you are my wife now in the eyes of the people of this planet, I would not presume to hold you to it. Someday, I'd like to see you come to me of your own will, wanting to be my wife."

"I can't do that," she whispered as her chin dipped. Duo guessed she was close to tears. He wanted to tilt her face up and kiss away her sadness, but he knew that would just drive her further away.

He took his hand away from her before he did something he would regret. "For the time being, just enjoy all the perks that come with being my wife. If someone wants to kiss your backside, go ahead and let them."

To his surprise she actually smiled. "I suppose I might get something out of this arrangement."

Chuckling, he walked to the door, but he paused before leaving to look back at the bed to see that she was already snuggling under the blankets to go back to sleep. At least this morning and for many hereafter, she didn't need to go through the trouble of hiding in the shadows to watch him.

Before joining his men in the courtyard, he headed to Apolo's office where he found the Wasteland governor waiting with his own advisor, Orhan. Orhan bowed deeply upon his arrival. "I hear that congratulations are in order, my lord. Your people will be very pleased to hear that you have taken a wife."

His tone did not underscore his words. "You are not pleased, Orhan?"

The other man lowered his eyes. "Forgive me, my lord, for my presumption."

Duo narrowed his eyes as he stared at Orhan. Larya did not like the man, and he noticed that Taeron had little to say to him although Duo had told his son that he should spend more time learning all that he could from him. What was it about Orhan that they did not like? Orhan was of great assistance in keeping the government on the second moon running smoothly while Duo was absent, so he found no fault with him.

"Say what is on your mind," he ordered him.

Orhan met his eyes. "The people might feel more confident if you were to produce several heirs." He did not add that Trynity probably wouldn't be able.

Duo glanced at Apolo to see that his friend was trying to hide a smile, then turned his attention back to Orhan. "I have two sons…"

"One of those sons is hardly fit to govern the second moon!" Orhan could not stop his exclamation. "Clearly, Lord Kandohr's daughter, Naiya, would have been an excellent choice for a wife. She…"

"Based on the foul means with which Kandohr tried to marry me to his daughter, I thank we can safely assume she would not come to me as innocent as a bride should," Duo pointed out, his brows drawn together. "Stick to your duties, Orhan, and don't presume to lecture me on my personal affairs."

"Yes, my lord." He lowered his head. After a moment, he raised it again, then asked, "Do you have an itinerary for the day?"

"I didn't have much time last night to give it any thought. We will head toward the western sector. Scouts reported that shepherds have seen the man and there were campfires spotted in that vicinity last night. We'll start our search there."

Orhan nodded, bowed, then walked out.

Apolo chuckled. "If Orhan had any clue, he would realize you'll have heirs around your ankles soon enough."

Duo turned around to face him. "Stop deny the truth, my friend! I don't have time to take care of both Trynity and Larya. I am not the father of Larya's child, but if you want to be pigheaded about the whole thing, then be prepared to watch me raise your son or daughter. I won't let you try to reprise the role later, and I'll take Larya into my house to protect. You'll be left with nothing."

Apolo looked away from him. "I guess I had never considered that. But how can I accept Larya after everything she has done to hurt the people I love? First Trey and Arora, and then you…"

"Trey and Arora have forgiven her. And she never hurt me, Apolo. I wronged her and her son."

"She deserved it," muttered Apolo. He shook his head. "I'm not ready to consider committing to her."

"I think you have been considering it for a long time," commented Duo. 

"Enough about Larya! I want to know how you spent the night with your lovely healer." Apolo's brows were raised as he waited for Duo to give him details.

"Let's just say there are a few mountain tops on the second moon that are warmer on the darkest winter nights than my bed was last night."

Apolo smiled, then put his hand on Duo's shoulder. "You must have patience, my friend. I fear that Trynity is suffering so deeply inside that she doesn't even know the cause."

"You have touched her," pointed out Duo. "What have you seen?"

"I cannot see what she has hidden even from herself. I believe some trauma has so severely affected her that she has effectively wiped all recollection of it from her mind. And yet it drives her actions."

"You're not talking about what happened to her on Mars Colony?"

Apolo shook his head. "She is very much conscious of that episode, but something happened before that. Nor do I believe it is connected to your leaving her behind. Whatever happened to cause this has become a source of deep guilt and shame."

"I'll talk to Quynn and Stryfe to see if they know anything." Duo had assumed based on everything his children had told him to this point that Trynity's life with Lars had been idyllic. Then again, they weren't privy to the most intimate aspects of their married life and Duo didn't want to know any more than he had already guessed. Lars had taken his place in every way, and Trynity didn't seem worse for the experience. Was it possible that she felt guilty about that?

"If we can get her to remember what she has chosen to bury so deeply that even I cannot discover it, then I think we will be able to help her recover. Right now, I believe she has withdrawn into a shell to protect herself." 

Duo was still thinking about it when he walked out to the courtyard where Taeron was waiting to tell him about the men that he had selected to watch over Trynity. As Taeron was talking, he noticed Amyr and Quynn standing close, the former twisting strands of her hair around his finger as he moved her imperceptibly to him, and the latter blushed as he said something to her.

Annoyed, he didn't wait for Taeron to conclude his report before he walked toward the young couple. Amyr noticed him first and tried unsuccessfully to get his hand unwrapped from her hair. 

Duo grabbed Amyr's wrist and jerked it up, then swiftly pulled his dagger, which made the young man's face go completely white. But he did no more than slice through the hair to free him. Amyr didn't have a chance to savor his escape before Duo jerked him close and said through gritted teeth, "I suggest you treasure these strands of hair, because that is all you're getting from my daughter. Do I make myself clear, my lord prince?"

Amyr looked from the strands of reddish brown hair around his finger to Duo. He swallowed nervously and then nodded.

Duo released him and walked to Quynn. She looked as frightened as Amyr. "I think you should stay at the palace today."

She glanced past him to Amyr, then back to Duo. "I'm sorry, my lord father."

Her meek demeanor made him snort with laughter. "This is a momentous day! Your mother smiled at me and you have just behaved like a dutiful daughter."

"Mark it in your journal," she said with a toss of her hair. "I'm really not all that sorry, but I do realize I should behave better, at least when I'm around you Calabrian cavemen. I'm not that ignorant or selfish."

Duo knew that was the best he was going to get from his independent daughter. "Spend some time with your mother today."

Quynn smiled. "You weren't too rough on her last night, were you?"

"Don't even joke like that with her," Duo warned. "Your mother's sense of humor seems to have dried up."

"Well, the last year and a half have been pretty hard on her. Can you blame her for losing it a little?" Quynn sighed. "Well, at least I can get a little more rest. My backside is getting more than just a little sore."

"Maybe Amyr will keep his attention on what we are doing today."

Quynn gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. "I don't think you need to worry about him anymore. You've made your position quite clear."

Later during the long ride out to the western foothills, Duo remembered what Quynn had said and decided to question Stryfe. He slowed his horse to ride beside him. "Quynn mentioned that your mother had a difficult time the last two years. I understand the more recent events, but I was wondering what happened before Lars was killed."

Stryfe shrugged. "I don't really know anything. Quynn and I were at the academy, and mom was on Mars Colony trying to keep her clinic running. I think her and pops were having money problems. I remember feeling a little guilty about staying in the Cinq Kingdom, but both of them refused to listen to our suggestion that we finish training in the colonies."

Money problems were too inconsequential, especially when Duo knew that Lars and Trynity had paid for Quynn and Stryfe's education and training at the academy with the annuity that was in his own name. "Did she have problems with your…with Lars?"

"Not that I know. A few months before her birthday, he took an assignment that was going to keep him away from Mars Colony for at least six months. She wasn't happy that he accepted, but they needed the money for the clinic. Pops was transporting military materials to Earth and he needed to travel at a slower speed than usual to ensure safety."

"So he left Trynity alone for six months?" Duo couldn't believe Lars had been so insensitive. He thought of how Trynity had been abandoned on L10 when her father left her alone with his prize gundam and how such isolation might have affected her.

"Pops wanted her to go with him. He thought they could use the time as a second honeymoon of sorts. After all, it would have been just them and a skeleton crew, and they wouldn't have to be bothered by all her demanding patients."

Duo knew how he would fill the time and guessed Lars had plans to do the same. "She refused to leave her patients." he guessed.

Stryfe nodded. "There were several women expecting babies within that time and she didn't want to leave them without medical attention. So she stayed and Pops left. But Pops didn't want to miss Relena's annual birthday bash for Mom, so he made arrangements for us to meet him on L3 where he released his cargo to another shipper. He was gone only about three months. We surprised her at the party. She cried and said it was the best gift she ever got. I thought she looked a little frazzled, but that was quite natural after spending so much time working alone on Mars Colony."

"So there weren't any repercussions from his having left her alone. They didn't fight?" Duo wouldn't mind hearing about marital trouble.

Stryfe chuckled. "Not in the least. They left Relena's party to find some privacy. Pops booked a suite at the best hotel on the colony. We didn't see them again until a few days later when Quynn and I were boarding the transport to return to school. They were acting like newlyweds and we thought it was funny and embarrassing."

"I wouldn't know what that is like," remarked Duo, thinking about his wedding night. "I doubt I ever will."

"You didn't exactly marry her under the best of circumstances," Stryfe reminded him. "Anyway, they boarded the transport with us and got off at L11 where I think they spent a couple of weeks at the mountain resort."

Duo envied Lars. He and Trynity had the life he would have liked to have with her. If only he could get back those seconds in that escape pod, he would change things. As it was, he had to live with the result.

"I guess that Pops getting killed less than a month later made it more difficult for Mom to take. She was downright sick with grief, but she refused to get any kind of help. She holed up on Mars Colony and didn't even see any patients for at least a month. I wish we could have helped out, but we used up most of our allotted leave already so we barely had enough left to attend Pops' funeral. Relena said she would keep an eye on Mom, but Mom shut everyone out completely."

"I'm sorry that your mother had to suffer like that." Duo didn't like the fact that she had married Lars, felt downright sick about it every time he thought of them together, but his heart ached knowing how Trynity must have suffered by losing him.

"She bounced back. Mom will bounce back again." Stryfe smiled proudly. "She's tougher than you think."

Or maybe not as tough as you think, Duo thought.

"The rest of the year you pretty much know. I hadn't even realized there was a problem with Quatre Winner until after Pops got killed and Mom accused him of arranging it. We had all gotten together so well until then. But now we know why he killed Pops. I didn't realize he was so obsessed with Mom."

There wasn't anything in what Stryfe told him to give Trynity a reason for a meltdown. "Lars didn't take any more long missions after that?" He had a suspicion about Lars and his absences from Trynity, but he wasn't going to say them aloud to the son who worshipped the man. But Lars did go from girl to girl when they were young without a care to the consequences. Lars the Faithful just didn't sound right to him.

Stryfe thought for a moment, then he said. "Not that I remember. I received a message from him about a week before his death. He told me that Mom had agreed to leave Mars Colony and that she was considering a position at the university on L2. Pops was going to accept a position as training instructor at the Cinq Kingdom Space Command there also. I guess those plans fell through."

Trynity leave Mars Colony? What magic had Lars worked on her to get her to even consider giving up that hellhole of a clinic? "It's too bad he wasn't able to get her out of there."

"Everything happens for a purpose," Stryfe commented. "I know that Mom is bitter about how things have turned out, but in the end we were united with our real father and she has been given a second chance with you. Maybe there is something in your belief in divine beings."

Duo believed so now more than ever. Last night was just another example of their workings. What were the odds that Trynity would have left her room at the moment she did? Another minute and he would be married to Naiya now and not her. Of course, in Trynity's view she would have no reason to thank the gods. But Duo was sure that given time she would realize that she did still love him as much as he did her. Whatever it was that had happened to her now worked to hold her back from him and Duo intended to find out exactly what that was.

He didn't have much more time to think about Trynity's problems because he had to turn his attention back to the fanatic. Not far into the foothills in the western sector, they did find a campsite that appeared to be fresh. Following a careless trail, they started to head higher into the hills before Taeron suggested they split up. Duo agreed with him when he voiced his opinion that this trail was conveniently obvious, so he took half the men in the opposite direction and Taeron continued to follow the marked trail. As it turned out, Taeron had been right. They came upon a gang of marauders attacking a village that was no larger than a dozen families. Fortunately for them, they were saved from the butchery of the Camridaens. When his troops arrived, most of them fled in different directions, but Stryfe managed to capture one man for questioning. The filthy, ragged wild-eyed man praised Camridaeus and managed to find out that the fanatical leader had the audacity to refer to himself as Lord Camrin. Unfortunately, they underestimated the captured man's devotion to Lord Camrin because he suddenly lunged at one of his guards, seized his dagger and ended his own life before they could take him back to the palace where Apolo would be able to read his thoughts.

By the time he returned to the palace in the late afternoon, Duo was dirty, weary, hungry and especially frustrated that the day had not yielded any useful information either about the fanatic they now had a name for or about Trynity. While he was discussing the day's progress with Apolo in his office, they received a hologram communication from Trey. As Duo gave him a report about the day's findings, Trey stood staring at him with a raised brow and Duo could almost feel his disappointment as if he were in the room with him. He really didn't like these hologram images.

He finally finished with, "I'm sorry I don't have more to report. Tomorrow might be more productive."

"This man who calls himself Lord Camrin is one step ahead of you," said Trey with a frown. "I suggest you start monitoring communications from the palace because I believe he has an ally amongst your people."

"I have already considered that." Duo glanced at Apolo.

"Tomorrow we will have a complete scan. Today we were unable to detect any transmissions leaving the palace that were directed to the hills."

"That doesn't mean your spy isn't getting through to him by some other means." Trey turned his attention back to Duo. "Do you have anything more to report?"

Duo could see that Trey was expecting something, and he knew what, but Duo didn't want to talk about Trynity with him. Instead he brought up a subject that might distract him. "I feel it necessary to tell you that your son has made some inappropriate advances to my daughter."

Apolo coughed to cover his laugh. He knew Duo was trying to divert Trey's attention.

Trey's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Amyr?"

"Don't pretend to be innocent, Trey. I know you have bailed him out of more scandals than you will ever admit to, and I don't intend for Quynn to be another of his conquests."

Trey smiled. "Amyr and Quynn. Now that has a nice ring to it! I think she is just the kind of woman he needs to settle down."

Duo had only wanted to distract Trey, not give him ideas for matrimony. "Are you suggesting that they marry?"

His friend's sly smile told Duo that Trey wasn't fooled in the least. "You and I are old and dear friends. Because she is your daughter, I would have no objections to her background…"

"I think Quynn might have some objection," pointed out Duo. "And I'm not about to make her do anything she doesn't want."

Trey seemed surprised. "Why would she reject my son?"

"I could only hazard a few guesses, such as he is a spoiled, selfish, pompous ass." Duo chuckled. "Her words, of course, and not mine. And there is the problem of his lack of constancy. He would make my daughter's life miserable. That is my prediction."

Trey chuckled. "You underestimate your daughter, Duo. I have met her and know that she is every bit her mother's daughter. Trynity Stryfe could hold her own, and I believe Quynn can too. But, since you have objections to my son, I will speak to him on the matter. I will assume that you already have."

Duo didn't tell him that he had all but threatened to cut off the crowned prince's hand that morning. "He seems to understand that I disapprove of the attention he has paid my daughter."

"Good, then that is settled. Now I have another matter to discuss with you."

"Can it wait? I am tired and hungry."

Trey laughed. "You're not getting away that easy. The news of your sudden marriage spread like an uncontrolled blaze today. Upon awaking, the first face I saw was that of Kandohr on my videocom complaining vehemently about your tricky maneuver."

"I don't think he has any complaint," interrupted Apolo. "I was there. The required testimony was made. Duo and Trynity are man and wife."

Trey raised a brow and looked directly at Duo. "Kandohr and his daughter are contesting the validity of your marriage. The girl – Naiya – claims that Trynity told her she had no objection to her relationship with you."

Duo wasn't surprised Trynity would say such a thing, but in the end she had come to his rescue. Obviously she did have an objection that she had voiced loud and clear with many witnesses to hear.

Apolo spoke for him. "Trynity is confused about her feelings."

"I know that. I took the liberty of speaking to her myself, and since she wasn't very forthcoming, I asked Shamara to get to the bottom of this sham of a marriage."

"You spoke to Shamara?" Apolo was surprised. "But I had assumed she and Dagan were in a trance."

Trey chuckled. "The only trance they have been in is the one in which they have discovered something they enjoy doing and don't want to quit. I believe we have all been in that trance at one time or another."

"So what did Shamara report to you?" asked Duo, dreading the response.

"What you might expect. Trynity was quite honest with her." Trey frowned at Duo. "I don't know what you see in that woman. She has kept secrets from you, lied to you, and now she rejects you even though she is well aware of your feelings for her."

"You don't understand," Duo started to argue, but Trey interrupted him.

"Oh, I've been told that by Arora, and she was kind enough to fill me in on details that you have not. I know about Quatre, and yet I still can't understand how that should affect her relationship with you." Trey narrowed his gaze as he stared straight at Duo. "Have you asked yourself what really happened, why she feels guilt, why she doesn't deem herself good enough for you?"

"There's a lot about Trynity I don't know," admitted Duo sadly.

"You have to face the fact that she isn't the same girl you left behind." Duo wanted to argue that he knew that girl was still inside her, but he didn't say anything. Trey's features softened and he sighed mournfully. "I've prayed to the gods to give you the life you richly deserve, Duo, that maybe your heart can rise from the ashes and you can find love, but I don't think they are listening to me. If Trynity doesn't want to share your life as a wife should, then I will put an end to that blasphemy of a marriage myself."

Trey didn't give him a chance to respond before closing the communication. Duo didn't know what he would say anyway. His friend hadn't said anything that he should have been telling himself ever since he had been reunited with Trynity. Last night he had been pleased with himself about how things had turned out, but in the light of day his decision to trap Trynity didn't look so good.

"I wouldn't want to be in your shoes," remarked Apolo before he left.

After receiving a report from the men assigned to watch her during the day, Duo went to his room. Entering, he saw Trynity lounging on the bed reading through some text she must have brought with her. She glanced at him, and without making any move to greet him commented, "I hope you are planning to bathe."

He raised a brow. "Are you offering to assist me?" When she didn't answer, he sighed. "What was I thinking?"

"I think you were actually hallucinating." She flipped a page, still not looking at him. Dressed in a Calabrian gown of some silky fabric that clung to her in all the right places, Trynity couldn't possibly be aware of the effect such a garment would have on him. Or was she trying to bait him only to reject him later?

Not wanting to get his hopes up, he set aside his sword and strode across the room to the bathing chamber without looking at her again. That would be too much temptation, and after Trey's dire warning, he didn't trust himself with her. Duo didn't know exactly how Trey would go about ending their marriage.

To his annoyance, he found Naiya's sister, Macayl waiting to serve him. His distrust waned a bit when she bowed humbly, offering him something cold to drink before turning away to add warm water to the bath. Duo had seen Macayl lurking in her sister's shadows, and by her continued presence in Apolo's palace, she must not have been a party to her sister's attempt to trap him in marriage. When all was ready for his bath, she bowed and stepped out. 

He watched her go, then turned back to the bath only to find Trynity standing in the doorway to his room.

"I didn't interrupt something, did I?" Her snide tone and raised brow gave him hope that she was jealous.

"Women on Calabria like to serve men," he told her with a shrug. "She was only doing her duty."

Trynity turned away as he undressed and slipped into the deep, sunken tub. "Was that supposed to be one of my duties as your wife?"

"You don't have any duties in particular." Except to love and honor him, but he wasn't going to hold his breath waiting for that to happen.

She didn't respond for a moment, then she said, "Do you like my gown?"

So she was teasing him! Why else would she draw attention to that almost scandalous dress? Instead of answering her, he dunked his head under the water and stayed under until he was almost out of breath. He had hoped she would have left – he could hold his breath for a considerable amount of time – but he came out of the water to find Trynity hovering over the pool precariously near the edge. She was worried about him? Duo decided to test her, so he let himself slip back into the water, but he hadn't gone completely under before he felt her hands under his arms and she pulled. 

Trynity wasn't nearly as strong as she used to be, having spent the better part of the last twenty years healing people, so Duo pushed himself off the bottom to help her yank him out of the pool. She grunted with the exertion of hauling him onto the deck beside it, and he had to keep himself from so much as allowing his lips to twitch into a smile although he felt an urge to laugh.

"Duo! Duo, are you all right?" She slapped his cheek lightly. "Duo!" She sounded a little frantic, but he decided to let her stew a little longer, especially after her behavior last night and today. Duo held his breath as she laid her cheek against his chest. "Duo!" Then her hands replaced her cheek, and he heard her take a deep breath. He was expecting her to put her mouth over his and give him the breath of life, but suddenly he felt tingling warmth radiating from the point of her touch.

He sucked in his breath and sat up instantly, knocking Trynity onto her backside beside him. Before she could scramble away, he grabbed her wrists. "What…what were you doing?"

She tried to jerk her hands from him, but he was far stronger. With a frustrated cry, she gave up and glared at him instead. "You weren't in danger!" she accused.

"What were you doing?" He repeated. Duo knew exactly what she had been doing, but he wanted to hear her admit it.

"I…I have learned to heal from Apolo," she admitted.

Duo released her wrists, but grabbed her shoulders before she could get away. "Do you realize how dangerous it is? Did he bother to warn you what could happen to you?"

She seemed disconcerted at first, then she clenched her teeth. "I know what I am doing!"

"Do you? Did you know that Apolo is nearly incapable of defending himself anymore because his strength has worn away from healing? He rarely leaves the palace because he is vulnerable." Duo remembered the man who had helped to train him to be an imperial guard and how the years of healing rendered him no stronger than a little girl. Trey had first forbidden Shamara to use healing arts because of its effects, but then relented only when she promised to use them sparingly. Duo knew Trynity was not capable of tempering her need help others. She would kill herself for her patients, almost had already on Mars Colony.

"You're hurting me," she complained.

He relaxed his grip and she shoved his hands away.

"I can take care of myself," she snapped, then her eyes widened. "You…you're naked." She scurried away, but not out of the room.

Duo took his time getting up and reaching for a towel. "By the way, I do like your gown, but I will not allow you to wear it outside of our room."

Trynity hadn't taken her eyes off him and he could see the blush spreading up her neck and to her cheeks. When he wrapped the towel around himself, she seemed to snap out of the trance she had put herself in. 

"I wasn't planning to wear it in public. Larya gave it to me as a gift, and after I tried it on, I realized…well…" Her blush grew deeper. "I realized what the intended purpose for wearing it was, but I liked how it felt on me…"

Duo smiled at her. "I will have to thank Larya. You are very beautiful in it."

Like a shy girl, she looked away.

Amused, Duo approached her and was glad when she didn't back off like a frightened doe. Before he could touch her, another door to the bathing chamber opened and Stryfe appeared as if on cue. Duo wondered if he had interrupted his mother's private moments with Lars Nelson with the same frequency that he interrupted theirs.

Seeing them, Stryfe stopped, scratched his head, then said, "Are you two done?"

Trynity made a sound of disgust and turning on her heel, she hurried out of the room.

Duo turned to look at Stryfe. "Have you ever been told what a pain in the ass you are?"

Stryfe laughed. "Once or twice."

Although he was annoyed, Duo also laughed. "The bath is all yours."

Stryfe looked around. "Aren't there supposed to be some pretty slave-girls around to scrub my back?"

"There are no slaves on Calabria," Duo told him with a chuckle. "You will just have to scrub your own back." As he walked to the door to his room he heard Stryfe muttering about having no one to take care of him. Like father like son.

When he entered his own room, Duo noticed immediately that Trynity had changed out of the enticing gown and into an elegant Calabrian dress that was more appropriate for dining in the hall. She turned her back after he had chosen his own clothing, so Duo knew the night was going to take a cold turn.

She stood by the window watching the first sun set as he dressed, and for several moments she didn't say anything, then she said, "I spoke to Trey today. He did not wish me well in this marriage of ours. Trey doesn't like me."

"Trey is protective of me," Duo told her. She didn't turn around, but her shoulders slumped as if she understood the merit in Trey's distrust. Duo wanted to hold her in his arms and assure her that she could always trust in his love for her.

"I know he sent Shamara to spy," she continued. "I didn't lie to her about our marriage. I told her I was going to go back as soon as I am able." She turned to look at him. "You understand that, don't you, Duo? I can't stay with you."

He sighed deeply. "We have gone over this many times, Trynity. What happened last night doesn't change anything except that I can finally call you my wife. If that is all I will ever get from you, then I will have to be satisfied with that." His gaze met hers, and he wondered if she saw the hurt that he felt. Duo certainly couldn't divine her thoughts. "I've lived with this most of my life. I can't take back the past."

She looked away from him. "Neither can I."

Was she talking about her decision not to tell him about her condition until they had returned to L10? Would they never be able to put that behind them? Part of Duo had already let go, but deep inside, he knew he would never be able to forgive either her or himself for missing the childhood of Stryfe and Quynn. Now he shook his head to clear it of the vision of Lars Nelson.

"I suppose we'll have to pretend for Trey's sake," she commented. She looked back him. "I can do that very well."

What did she mean by that? It wasn't the first time she had said it. "I am not going to pretend," he said without speculating further. "I am happy that you are my wife and I want everyone to know it. When you leave, I will be unhappy, and everyone will know that too. Let's just concentrate on here and now. I don't want to worry about what the future will bring."

She forced herself to smile. "I suppose you are right. Then we had better go down to eat."

"I'd rather not waste our time together by sharing you with them. I can have a meal sent to us." He could see that she was uncomfortable with spending time alone with him, but Duo didn't care. "We haven't had a chance to talk or be alone together since you came here."

Trynity sighed, then sat down on a padded chair. "If that is your wish, my lord."

Duo half-smiled. "My lord husband," he corrected her.

She rolled her eyes, and he was still chuckling about the expression on her face when he left in search of Apolo. That he found him in some heated arguments with Larya in the hall came as no surprise to Duo. When they noticed him, they stopped abruptly.

Duo spoke to Larya first. "I want to thank you for your kindness to Trynity."

"She is doing her duty," snapped Apolo. 

Duo didn't need to see the tears in Larya's eyes to know that Apolo had already been unnecessarily cruel to her. Disgusted, angry, and frustrated, Duo grabbed a handful of Apolo's clothing and jerked him close until they were nose to nose. "And is it your duty to teach Trynity to heal?"

"You were not healing?" cried out Larya in dismay.

Apolo tried to shove himself away from Duo, but he was too weak. Duo knew he would be after using his powers the day before. "Let me go!"

Duo let him drop and Larya hurried to steady him so that he did not fall. "The least you could have done was to warn Trynity of the consequences."

Apolo hung his head. "I did not think that she would be able to do it."

"Well, she has, and she tried to use that power on me." Duo ran a hand through his hair and clenched his fist. "I wish you had left well enough alone."

"I warned her not to challenge the will of the gods."

"Not only does she not give a tinkers damn about the will of the gods, but she has no self-control. If she thinks she can heal someone, she will try without any regard to her own well-being."

Apolo sighed regretfully. "I can only beg your forgiveness."

Duo stared at him for a moment as he stood weakly leaning against Larya, then he said, "You should beg forgiveness of Larya. She has worked hard to earn your approval, and you are loathe to give it because of some ridiculous belief that I could possibly be the father of her child." 

Apolo looked as if he wanted to argue, but a glare from Duo silenced him. "If you don't accept her and the child now, I assure you that you will regret it for the rest of your life." He turned his attention to Larya. "I would like you to arrange for our meal to be sent to my room."

Larya smiled although there were still tears glistening in her eyes. "The gods favor your marriage."

"I'm glad the gods do because Trynity does not." But Duo smiled at her. "Thank you for the blessing, Larya." He gave Apolo one last warning glare before returning to his room.

Trynity was pacing, wringing her hands, so Duo suspected she was worried that he might try to coax her into bed. That was the last thing he had in mind. When she saw him, she stopped and smoothed her hands down over her clothing. Duo wished he could have back the girl he had fallen in love with, the girl who shared everything with him. But that girl was gone.

Before he had a chance to tell her he had arranged everything, a knock at the door preceded the entrance of servants bringing trays of food. Trynity was openly relieved by the interruption. She didn't speak at all as they ate, not even to ask him what she was nervously filling her plate with. Duo was slightly amused to see her grimace a couple of times as she ate, but he didn't joke about it. He doubted she would appreciate it.

When there was little left to eat, he said, "You have quite the appetite."

She avoided looking at him. "I…I haven't eaten much lately."

Duo knew the reason and hoped she would tell him, but she didn't add anything to her response. "I was afraid you wouldn't eat much of our traditional food."

Trynity stared at her near empty plate silently for a moment, then said, "I remember when we first came to Calabria and you were so horrified to eat bugs. You've gotten used to them."

He pushed himself away from the table and held out his hand. "Will you watch the last sun set with me?"

Although she hesitated, she did take his hand and he led her onto the balcony were there was a padded bench. They sat together and silently watched as the second sun slowly sank behind the Guerani Hills. Despite the many times he had seen it, Duo still marveled at the beauty of the second sunset. For a few moments following, they were in darkness. He could hear Trynity's breathing, first slow, then faster until he heard her catch her breath on a sob. Duo didn't know what to say when he didn't know the reason for her sadness.

"I can't be a good wife," she finally said into the darkness.

Duo chuckled. "We haven't even been married a day, so don't be too hard on yourself."

"I wasn't a good wife to Lars," she whispered, then sobbed again. She sniffed, and he knew she was crying. "I am the reason he is dead. I am the reason that Dorothy is dead."

Duo was well aware what had happened. Quynn and Stryfe had told him the details of her harrowing experience on L12 with Quatre Winner. "You are not responsible for that madman's obsession."

By the first beams of light from the rising first moon, Duo saw her shake her head. "It was my fault."

"You can't blame yourself." Duo doubted he could reason with her in this state. Apolo would be better at this.

She covered her face and shook her head. "Lars was too good for me. All those years he had been so patient with me, and in the end I disappointed him."

"Stryfe told me that he adored you, Trynity. He told me about Lars returning early from a mission so that he could be with you for your birthday."

Trynity burst into tears, and Duo pulled her into his arms. Her memories of happier times must be painful for her, especially in light of Quatre's subsequent destruction of her life. "He was so good to me, and I ruined it all!"

Duo held her tighter. "You can't blame yourself, Trynity, for something Quatre did. You could not have known what that bastard was planning."

She continued to cry for a few more moments, and by the time she spoke again, the first moon was high and the second was starting to appear. The hour was getting late, and he was about to suggest they go to bed, that maybe if she got some sleep, she would feel better, but she began to talk, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Lars wanted me to stop him from taking that shipment to Earth, and I knew it, but I didn't. We both knew we needed the money to finish the construction on the clinic. I wanted to go with him, but I didn't do that either. I suppose I wanted him to drag me away, but he didn't. I convinced myself that six months wouldn't seem so long, but as the days and nights went on and on, I thought I would lose my mind. My days were filled with an endless stream of patients who were ungrateful for my help, and my nights were lonely, with no one to hold me."

Duo brought her head to his shoulder. "You've never told me how terrible your loneliness was on L10, but I knew, Trynity. When Stryfe told me about Lars' trip, and I knew the loneliness must have been especially hard on you."

She sighed deeply. "I talked with Relena from time to time, and then she went on vacation to L11 with Heero. I know that even if she had been there for me, things wouldn't have gone differently." 

"You don't need to talk about this," Duo told her.

"I do." She set herself away from Duo and folded her hands in her lap. "I…I put this from my mind until Quatre…" She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, probably to stop herself from crying, and he reached out for her again, but Trynity pushed his hands away. "I have to talk about it so that you can understand why I am not worthy of you!"

"Nothing you can tell me will make me believe that."

She smiled sadly at him. "Lars had been gone for two months when Quatre came to the clinic with one of his men who had an accident. I was so glad to have someone to talk to that I knew, so I invited him to have supper with me. I enjoyed the evening reminiscing with him. But the next night I was even more lonely, so I called him again the next day."

"If you are trying to tell me that you are at fault for Quatre's behavior when all you wanted was some company…"

Trynity interrupted him. "Quatre was kind enough to accept, and when the evening came to an end, I just couldn't let him go. I couldn't stand the quiet of my house, my loneliness. I needed someone." Trynity paused, then added, "I think he felt more guilty than I did. I knew his marriage with Dorothy wasn't perfect, but he claimed to love her. Yet I convinced him that it didn't matter, that what we had done had nothing to do with our feelings for Dorothy or Lars. To be honest, I didn't care who I was hurting."

Duo didn't dare let her see how shocked he was by her confession, that she had seduced Quatre. But he was beginning to understand exactly how the subsequent events unfolded, and he wasn't sure how he felt about what she was telling him.

"Dorothy was busy with the charitable operations of the Winner Foundation," she continued, "And Quatre was left on Mars Colony to oversee the mining operations. I don't know when he started using the drug." Trynity sighed. "I suppose that is my fault too. I just didn't leave him alone, and _he_ at least had the decency to feel guilty every time we were together. Finally I just wore him down, and we got together every moment we could, at my house, at the clinic, at his mansion. We even made separate reservations at L11 to have a vacation together after my birthday, and I tried to get out of Relena's birthday party so that I could be with him, but I couldn't without her becoming suspicious."

He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Are you excusing Quatre for what he did to you? To Lars? To Dorothy?"

"I don't know!" There were tears rolling down her cheeks. "You can't imagine how I felt when Lars surprised me at my birthday party! He told me that he guessed what was going on when he watched Quatre and I dance. I hid it from everyone but him. Relena never knew. Quynn and Stryfe wouldn't believe me if I told them. But Lars said it was plain as day to him."

"Yet he forgave you," said Duo, wondering himself how forgiving he would have been.

"He was very angry and felt betrayed, and he had every reason to be. I had no excuse for what I had done. Lars gave me a choice, either him or Quatre, and I realized when I thought I might lose him, just how much I really loved him." She sighed. "I thought Quatre understood that it was over. He returned to Mars Colony when Lars and I went to L11. By the time we went back to Mars Colony, his mining operation was underway, but Quatre had changed. That was when he started limiting shipments to the colony and charging exorbitant prices. Dorothy told me that she had tried to talk sense into him, but wouldn't listen to her. Shortly afterwards she died – had been killed. I realize now that Quatre must have poisoned her with the boreworm residue." 

She looked at Duo. "You see, it was all my fault. After Lars was killed, I was so grief-stricken, I must have blocked the previous few months from my mind."

"Quatre made you remember," said Duo.

She looked into his eyes. "Can't you see now why I can't be with you?"

"No, I can't."

"You don't understand!" Trynity was clenching her fists and tears watered her eyes.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, his frustration mounting.

"Would you have forgiven me?" she demanded. 

"You don't have the right to know the answer to that question!" It slipped out before Duo could prevent himself from saying it with all the bitterness he felt that Trynity had given the life that should have been theirs to another man because she couldn't trust him.

"Of course not! When you bailed out in that escape pod, you took that right from me!" She stormed off the balcony and into the room.

Duo sat in the dark for a long time watching the second moon slowly follow the first across the sky. He tried praying to the gods, but he felt too heartsick to do anything but stare at the sky. He couldn't get those seconds on the transport back no matter how much he wanted them. She could never understand how deep his regret was the split second he had jettisoned the pod. He was drowning in it.

When he finally went into his room, the first sun was starting to rise, so he didn't bother going to his bed. Grabbing his sword, he headed to the door, but Trynity's voice stopped him.

"I'm sorry, Duo."

He didn't turn around. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I'm sorry I can't be your wife."

Duo walked out without responding. 

If only he could have those seconds back.


	35. Faith in the gods

****

Wasteland Palace, Calabria

Although she could not go back to sleep after Duo had gone, Trynity also did not get out of bed. She felt too ashamed of herself after what she had revealed to him about her betrayal of Lars and by their subsequent hurtful words to each other. Her mind had erased the entire affair with Quatre as if it had never taken place until he triggered the memories. Trynity hadn't told Duo every memory that had come back to her about Mars Colony, especially what had happened when she and Lars had returned to the clinic. Quatre had tried to meet Trynity in secret to continue the affair, had seemed more excited by the prospect of being caught by Lars or Dorothy, but Trynity didn't have feelings for him. She guessed Lars had threatened him to stay away from her, but that only made Quatre more tenacious. 

In the midst of the upheaval in her life at that time, Trynity realized she was pregnant. She hadn't known whether to feel happy or horrified, but Lars was happy they would have another child regardless of how it came about. That was when they made plans to leave Mars Colony forever, partly because they did not want to raise a child in such a place and partly because neither of them had wanted Quatre to know about the baby. The shock of losing Lars triggered a miscarriage, and on top of everything that had happened, Trynity discovered when reading the routine genetic testing results on the child, that it had been Lars who had been the father, not Quatre. Trynity had become so overwhelmed guilt and grief that she had lost consciousness, and when she awoke, she didn't remember what had happened between the time Lars left on his shuttle mission and when she had regained consciousness. After she realized what had happened to Lars, the doctor must have decided it was for the best that he not tell her about the baby. 

Trynity covered her face with her hands now as she relived each memory. Because of her selfishness, she had caused the death of Dorothy, Lars and the child she and Lars must have made on L11. Lars had gone to his death believing he was destined to raise Quatre's child and he never knew that he was the father. She blamed herself for the unfolding of events that began when she chose not to tell Duo that she was pregnant. Against the advice of everyone that cared about her, she had thrown away the best thing that had ever happened to her. She didn't deserve to be happy. Certainly that is what the gods were telling her.

No one disturbed her throughout the day and as the sun started to set, she went out onto the balcony to watch for Duo's return. But when his troops clattered into the courtyard, he was not with them. Worried, she left her room and hurried to find Taeron who was talking to Apolo but they fell silent when she approached. Trynity didn't have to be telepathic to know they were talking about her.

"I was about to come to you," Taeron said.

"I didn't realize you had come out of your room," added Apolo. They both seemed to be uncomfortable by her presence.

Trynity looked at Taeron. "Where is your father? I did not see him among the returning men." She feared the worst, that Quatre had somehow gotten to Duo and the two men standing before her didn't know how to tell her. Then she realized if something would have happened to the great Lord Duo, there would be a great outpouring of grief. Duo's men were as jocular as usual with the women flitting about them, and although Taeron and Apolo didn't seem pleased, they certainly didn't look as though they were keeping a horrifying secret from her.

"My lord father will not be returning for several days," Taeron told her, his tone so tight that he might as well be accusing her for his absence.

Trynity knew that she was the reason that Duo was not returning. "Where is he?"

"He has decided to take a retreat in the hills." Taeron was obviously not pleased by his decision.

Trynity looked at Apolo. "What…what is he talking about?"

Apolo glanced first at Taeron who was now frowning at Trynity, and then he took Trynity's arm and led her away from the young man. "You have nothing to worry about. Duo can take care of himself."

"What is this "retreat"?" she demanded as she looked over her shoulder to see Taeron talking with his mother who nodded sympathetically and patted her son's shoulder. Trynity looked back at Apolo as they sat on a bench set apart from the main entrance hall where the men were talking about their leader.

Apolo released her and clasped his own hands. "Duo has gone on a retreat so that he can reaffirm his faith. He hopes that by praying and fasting in the sacred hills that he can get guidance from the gods."

"What?!" Trynity could not believe what she was hearing. "But…but…how could he do such a thing at a time like this? How long will he be gone?"

"Until he feels that the gods have answered him."

Trynity knew he would be in the hills forever waiting for the so-called gods to speak to him. Was Duo that naïve? Not only was he in danger from the fanatic calling himself Lord Camrin, but he didn't even know that Quatre Winner was on Calabria and could be stalking him this very moment as he tried to commune with his gods. Trynity knew it was her fault that he suddenly decided to hide in the hills. Duo was staying away from her because he couldn't stand the sight of the woman he had rashly made his wife.

"I know what you are thinking," Apolo interrupted her thoughts. "But you are not the full reason Duo has decided to do this."

"I'm not the _full_ reason, but I am part of the reason!" Trynity shut her eyes tightly to keep from crying. "Doesn't he realize his danger out there?"

"He know the risks, but he felt it was something he had to do." Apolo put his hands on her shoulders to comfort her, but Trynity shoved them off.

She shot to her feet. "I don't believe in your silly gods! They are not real! They do not exist! I'll tell you what does exist: those crazy people who would kill and maim innocent people in the name of those gods. Duo is in danger!" She spun around and saw that everyone was staring at her. Trynity didn't care. She looked directly at Taeron. "Are you going to leave your lord father out in the hills at the mercy of those fanatics?"

Taeron looked straight back at her. "My father is only at the mercy of the gods. He has put his trust in them and they will not fail him."

They had failed him many times but Duo was too bull-headed to realize it. She pushed Apolo away when he tried to grab her arm, and she hurried out the door leading to the garden aware that she was being followed. When she reached the spot where she had encountered Duo only a couple of nights ago, she stopped to catch her breath.

"Mom!" Stryfe had caught up to her, and she saw that Quynn had followed as well as Taeron. What a strange bunch of people to call her family, she thought with annoyance. All that was missing was her absentee father.

She turned away from looking at the water to Stryfe. "I am afraid for him! I told him some things…" Trynity wasn't going to tell her children about her confession. Losing Duo's respect was far different from losing theirs.

"I figured you two had some kind of deep discussion because he wasn't really up to talking today," Stryfe told her. "I think he will be safe enough, Mom. He's an imperial guard."

Quynn laughed. "Gee, Mom, haven't you noticed that he's a demi-god? He can take care of himself. I bet he's done this before."

"Not with Quatre Winner out there waiting for a chance to strike!"

Trynity guessed their reaction even before Stryfe blurted, "For God's sake, mom! Winner is dead!"

"He's not!" she insisted. "He…he attacked me two nights ago!"

"Mom! Get a grip!" Quynn seemed to be both annoyed and worried, and Trynity knew that in their eyes she was behaving irrationally. "The man was incinerated in space!" Quynn stared at her with her brows raised and Trynity had the horrifying feeling that her daughter was involved in the attack on Quatre's transport.

"I'm not crazy!" she shouted.

Taeron stepped forward. "She's right," he said to Quynn and Stryfe, then he looked at Trynity. "My lord father knew who attacked you that night. My guards have been following you since then to prevent similar attacks."

"What!" Quynn, Stryfe and Trynity exclaimed at the same time.

Trynity was mortified that Duo knew that Quatre had his hands on her that night. Hearing her admit to her affair with Quatre must have made him think he was a fool to protect her. Was he thinking that she still encouraged him? Was that why he didn't return to the palace?

"You didn't tell me?" Stryfe was openly hurt that his half-brother hadn't confided in him.

"How did he know?" asked Trynity. Had she given it away somehow?

"The stench of the boreworm," Taeron told her before looking at Stryfe to say, "Our father did not wish to tell you until your mother admitted it to him."

Trynity could not feel lower than she already did. Duo was surely wondering why she hadn't told him.

Quynn tried to put her arms around her. "You should have told us!"

Trynity pushed her away. "Just leave me alone! You wouldn't have believed me anyway!" She wiped the tears from her cheeks, then looked at Taeron. "Knowing this, you still won't go out to find him?"

Taeron shook his head. "His decision to do this was not suddenly made."

"Did you at least try to talk him out of it?" Trynity was becoming quickly overwhelmed with frustration and guilt.

"We did not discuss it. He told me his plans today."

Larya finally came upon the group, out of breath. "Here you are!"

Trynity would rather she go away.

Stryfe looked at Taeron. "Do you think we should do something? Maybe we should just find him and set up a guard…"

"Absolutely not!" Larya seemed horrified. "He will not find peace with the gods with you all traipsing around. Besides, I will assume that he has already given you instructions about not disturbing him."

Stryfe and Quynn hung their heads guiltily.

Trynity glared at Larya. "He doesn't know what is for his own good! I think Stryfe is right! There should be a guard…"

"Mom, Lord Duo told us that we were not to look for him," said Quynn.

"Since when have you ever obeyed?"

Quynn's face turned red, and Trynity saw tears in her eyes. "I am trying hard to be his dutiful daughter!"

"She's right," admitted Stryfe as he put his arm around Quynn's shoulders. "We cannot take lightly our duty to obey Lord Duo."

Trynity turned her back on them. "Go to hell! All of you!"

For a moment no one said anything, then she heard their footsteps and waited for them to die away before she burst into tears. But she choked back her sobs when she suddenly felt comforting hands on her shoulders, and she turned quickly to see Larya looking at her with concern in her blue eyes.

"You go to hell too! Especially you!" Yet Trynity didn't move when Larya pulled her close and hugged her. "I hate you!"

Larya laughed softly. "You have no reason to hate me. I understand how you feel."

"You don't! You don't know!" She knocked against Larya with her fists. "I should have been the one to have his children! Me! Only me!"

Larya grabbed her upper arms and shook her gently. "Stop talking like this! If that is what you wanted, then why did you never tell him about your children?"

Trynity fell to her knees and cried more. "I can't take it back! I can't take any of it back!"

The other woman knelt before her and gently brought her into her arms again. "You must realize that the gods are merciful, and they will ease your pain. Duo knows this. He has gone to ask for their compassion and to reaffirm his belief in them." Larya put her hand under Trynity's chin and raised her face to look at her. "You must believe in them and in him. The gods will bring peace to your life."

Trynity wanted to believe her words, but she just could not after everything that had happened to her. She managed to calm herself enough to convince Larya that she would be all right and that she needed time alone. She noticed that before entering the palace, Larya raised her arms to the sky in that Calabrian pose of prayer. What was she praying for? Why did she believe in gods who would allow Apolo to treat her as he did? But when Larya reached the doorway, Apolo was waiting for her, and he drew her into a tender embrace. Seeing them kiss made Trynity feel even more miserable. Why had the gods given a woman like Larya happiness?

Wanting to avoid any more encounters, Trynity walked further into the garden. When she remembered what Taeron had said, she looked around for the men who were supposed to be guarding her. Just when she thought Taeron must be mistaken, she spotted a man who was standing negligently by a tree. Trynity had never noticed that her movements were followed. Now she was angry that her privacy was invaded.

She stayed in the garden for a long time trying to sort through her thoughts and feelings. A part of her wished Duo had never come back into her life, that this was all some awful dream she would wake up from to find Lars holding her in his arms as he always did when she had one of her emotional dreams starring Duo Maxwell. Lars had been quicker to forgive her when he learned of her affair than she had been to forgive herself. They both knew why.

__

"You cannot forgive yourself for cheating on him."

"Who are you talking about?"

Lars laughed. "After all these years, you think I don't know what is in your heart? You didn't cheat on me, Trynity. You cheated on Duo Maxwell."

"Don't be ridiculous! I betrayed your trust, Lars."

"I have forgiven you, but now you're waiting for his forgiveness and you will never be able to get it."

Maybe Lars had been right, and she felt hurt now that Duo had left her alone with the uncertainty of how he felt. Perhaps she did need Duo's forgiveness, and based on what he had said to her, she would never get it. 

Trynity walked back to the palace and was aggravated to see that Apolo was waiting for her. She tried to walk past him, but he stayed by her side. "Shouldn't you be with Larya?"

"She is sleeping. She tires easily."

"How fortunate for me! I don't have to put up with her smothering me with kindness." Sighing, she turned to look at Apolo. "I don't agree with any of this! Don't I have any say as his wife?"

"You are not really his wife, Trynity, and everyone knows it. Trey told Duo that he would not give his blessing."

"So what does that mean?" Trynity wasn't surprised Trey would not approve of their marriage. He had all but said so when he spoke to her the day before. "Is Duo going to divorce me?"

"There is no divorce on Calabria," Apolo told her. "Once a man takes a wife, there will be no other."

Trynity wanted to argue the stupidity of such a custom, but she felt a profound sense of pleasure of knowing that she was Duo's one and only chosen wife. Yet the responsibility of being the wife of such a man was daunting. Could she actually leave him behind to return to her wretched existence on Mars Colony? Trynity no longer had any illusions that her life there would be anything but miserable. She couldn't treat her patients any more than she could even look them in the eye. Everywhere she would look she would think of Lars and Quatre. And she would not see Duo when the only thing she wanted in life was to be able to turn around and see him, to know that when the sun set, she would be in his arms. Even if it had to be two suns.

"Do not worry about him," Apolo tried to reassure her. "You don't realize how strong he is. Perhaps you should spend this time of separation in meditation. You might find guidance from the gods comforting."

They wouldn't listen to me, she thought, but she nodded to Apolo and he let her continue on her way to her room. Trynity decided to speak to Quynn first and apologize for her harsh words earlier, but when she came to the door to her daughter's room, she heard voices, and one was a male, quite certainly that of the crowned prince. Even on Earth Quynn shouldn't be entertaining that kind of young man in her bedroom. What was she thinking? Was this her idea of being a dutiful daughter? But then she heard Taeron's voice followed by Stryfe's and Trynity released the breath she had been holding. What she wanted to say could wait until morning, so Trynity went to the room she shared so briefly with Duo.

Trynity was surprised to find the young servant, Macayl, waiting for her, sitting on the edge of the bed. The young woman jumped up immediately when Trynity closed the door. 

"I have no need of a servant," Trynity told her. She was tired and wanted to get some rest. 

Macayl was wringing her hands nervously as she approached her. "I did not come here to serve you. I heard of your displeasure at Lord Duo's absence, and you have good cause to be angry."

"Are you not a believer of the gods?" Trynity raised a brow. She could hardly believe there was a Calabrian not obsessed with a god.

The young woman lowered her head. "Of course I believe." She looked at Trynity. "But I know how you must feel, and I have heard of the danger he is in."

"Do you have a point?" asked Trynity impatiently.

Macayl looked at her. "My father's tribe camps in the hills. When I was a little girl, I was out walking one day and I came upon Lord Duo. I now realize that he was on his retreat before attaining the rank of imperial guard." 

"Do you remember the place?" Was it too much to hope that Duo would return to the same spot? 

Macayl nodded. "I could take you there."

Common sense shouted at Trynity not to trust the sister of the young woman who had tried to trap Duo in marriage, but she was too alarmed about Duo's safety when Quatre Winner could be stalking him even now. She knew Quatre wouldn't hesitate to kill Duo, just as he hadn't hesitated in killing Lars, then Kurt Duran. 

Trynity needed to speak to him again. Despite everything that had happened, she was still in love with him. That would never change, even if he could not forgive her for the lack of trust she had in him seventeen years ago. He hadn't meant to abandon her, and if the wormhole had opened up, she knew he would have come back to her, and she would have been waiting. If Duo did not wish to leave his retreat, she could at least tell him the truth of her feelings and to ask his forgiveness. Trynity owed him that much.

Trynity grabbed a cloak and started toward the door, but she stopped when she realized that Taeron's men would follow them. "Meet me at the edge of the garden," she ordered Macayl. "I am being watched."

Macayl nodded and left. Trynity went to the window that overlooked the garden and she looked down. The distance wasn't nearly as far as the heights she used to easily jump when she was younger. But that was way back when she was daring, not to mention a bit more physically fit. She really had no choice, so shoving open the window, she slipped a leg out onto the ledge, and she was just getting up the nerve to jump when another window opened.

"Stop!" Damn Taeron! He was leaning out Quynn's window.

With no more time to spare, Trynity pushed herself off and soon she was falling. Taeron was shouting for the guards, and she hit the ground with a thud that shocked through her body. She couldn't even let her sore limbs recover before she had to run because she could see Taeron leaping through the air like some damn acrobat from the circus. Trynity knew he would hunt her down in the shrouded garden that he knew much better than she did. The gods apparently favored her escape because clouds were creeping over the moons. Unfortunately, she kept stumbling as she ran and she was disappointed in her own clumsiness when she tripped on something and fell headlong into a bed of flowers. She almost hit her head on a rock, but her arm was grabbed before she hit the ground.

"Are you all right?" Taeron was towering over her and Trynity realized he had tripped her. "What do you think you are doing? It is dangerous out here!"

Trynity regretted the necessity, but she grabbed the rock and whirling around, she swung out to club him. Taeron seized her wrist to stop her, but before he could do anything else, a tree limb hit him from behind. Taeron's eyes widened with surprise, then he lurched forward onto Trynity. Her first instinct was to check his wound, and she felt a lump and her hand came away sticky with his blood.

"Come with me." It was a man's voice.

Trynity ignored him as she checked Taeron's pulse. He was not critically injured, so she knew she had little time before the imperial guard regained consciousness. She accepted the help of her rescuer, and they said no more as he hurried her through the garden to where Macayl was waiting with a horse.

The clouds cleared for an instant long enough for Trynity to see the face of the man. Although she had never spoken with him, she did recognize Duo's advisor, Orhan. "Why…why are you helping me?" she asked him.

He glanced at her. "You do not belong here."

His tone stung her. "I…I know that."

Orhan looked at Macayl. "You know the way?"

"Very well," she answered.

He put his hand to his heart. "Praise be to Camrin."

"May he live forever," Macayl responded and they both bowed their heads. Then Macayl looked at Trynity. "We must go before the first sun has a chance to rise. Imperial guard Taeron will send his men to find you, but I know of places to hide."

No sane person would have left with Macayl, especially hearing her praise Camrin, but Trynity now had another purpose to find Duo. She was convinced that Orhan was the man who was aiding the fanatics in the hills, and as she headed away from the palace into the night with Macayl, she worried about the safety of Taeron. Orhan could easily kill him although it was more likely that Orhan would return to help Taeron so that he could continue his deception. She seemed more worried that Taeron had enough time to regain consciousness and gather up a force to follow.

They traveled for hours, much of the time on narrow twisting paths in the Guerani foothills. When the suns rose, they barely drew any curious glances from the native people. Macayl said nothing to Trynity except to offer her something to drink or eat, both of which she accepted without complaint. 

By midday she was exhausted as they ascended higher into the mountains. "How much further?" she asked when they stopped to rest and have water.

Macayl glanced at her. "Not much."

A cold chill passed through Trynity as she looked up now at the peaks of the Guerani Hills. Soon the horses would not be able to travel on the rocky, narrow paths. Her prediction proved true when only about an hour later, Macayl told her they would have to continue on foot. The rugged terrain was beautiful, yet also frightening. Macayl insisted there was a plateau ahead where they would find what she was looking for, so Trynity followed.

Finally she could make out a campsite ahead, but where Trynity expected a single tent, there were several, and she saw even further beyond that there was a large community of tents. Before she could turn and flee, Macayl grabbed her arm and pulled her along with her.

"Duo isn't here, is he?" demanded Trynity as she tried to fight her.

Macayl released her as two men came to grab Trynity's arm to drag her along with them into the camp. From one of the tents stepped Kandohr, and Macayl hurried to greet her father. 

"I have brought her!"

"His lordship will be most pleased!" Kandohr had a delighted fanatical gleam in his eyes.

"Where is his lordship?" demanded Trynity. She looked around and seeing a central tent that was obscene in its flamboyance, she guessed the leader was inside. She had every intention of seeing the man that claimed to be Lord Camrin. "Let me go!" she ordered the two brutes holding her.

Kandohr nodded to them. "She has no place to go."

When they released her, she rushed to the tent but stopped short when the opening was brushed aside and Naiya stepped out adjusting her clothing and running hands through her mussed hair. No one needed to be a soothsayer to know what she had been doing.

"Well, I see you've quickly found someone who appreciates your talents," remarked Trynity.

The opening of the tent was brushed aside again before Naiya could respond, and Trynity felt her world tilt as Duo stepped out. He saw Trynity, and his brows raised a bit in surprise, then his lip curled in scorn. "Ah, my dear wife. What brings you here?"

Some of the men snickered, and Duo smiled in response.

"I …I want to talk to you!" Trynity felt sick to her stomach. All of Duo's excuses about Naiya were lies. She couldn't believe that she was so gullible that she actually believed him! This was no spiritual retreat!

He held out his hand, but she ignored him. With a mocking chuckle, he walked away from his camp where the filthy men who followed him watched them with amused interest. Trynity followed him, her anger ready to burst. Naiya crept after them although her sister and father called for her to come back.

Duo led Trynity to an outcropping that overlooked the hills and valley. For a moment she became dizzy and disoriented from the heights, but she quickly overcame her vertigo and turned to look at Duo. "I came here to help you, but you don't deserve my concern. You are a lying bastard! All I want is to be released, and I will go home. You can have Naiya as your wife."

"Marriage is forever here." Duo was smiling. "You are mine now, to do with as I please for an eternity."

"Or at least until one of you dies," added Naiya slyly as she came closer.

Trynity started to feel panic, and she looked at Duo. "Are you going to kill me?"

"He doesn't need to." Naiya lunged forward to push Trynity over the edge, but Duo quickly swept Trynity aside and grabbed Naiya by the hair.

Trynity lost her balance and fell to the ground at Duo's feet. At least she was safely away from the edge of the precipice. Duo had put a hand around Naiya's slender neck, and he raised her off the ground with what seemed to be superhuman strength. Naiya was clawing at his hand and kicking futilely in the air. Trynity could see that Duo was choking her. 

"Stop!" cried Trynity as she regained her feet. She could not bear to see him torture the girl even though Naiya would gladly have thrown her off the cliff.

Duo glanced at her. "Such compassion, my love, for this undeserving bitch! She is not worthy." When Naiya's struggle weakened, Trynity heard a snap and the girl's body became limp. He dropped her at his feet, and Trynity could see that Naiya was dead, her neck broken.

"My lord!" The cry of horror had come from Kandohr who was standing several feet away.

Duo looked at the older man. "Your worthless progeny tried to kill my woman."

To Trynity's surprise, Kandohr fell to his knees, then prostrated himself. "Forgive me my lord! Forgive me and my house!"

Duo nudged the girl's lifeless body off the edge of the cliff.

Still on the ground, Trynity looked up at Duo. "Why? How could you do such a horrible thing?"

His eyes met hers, and for a moment their gazes locked. "I did it for you, Trynity." Suddenly his eyes changed from deep blue to a clear color, and before her eyes he transformed until she found herself looking at the face of Quatre Winner. "You are my woman, Trynity, and I will not let anyone harm you."


	36. Tangled web of the gods

****

Wasteland Palace, Calabria

When Dagan awoke, the first thing he did was reach out into the dark for his wife. But she wasn't cuddled beside him, which was probably why he had awakened in the first place. Looking around in the dark room, he saw her standing on the balcony facing the Guerani Hills, and although she made no sound, he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. Leaving behind the warm bed, he walked across the room and joined her, slipping his arms around her and pulling her back against him.

"Do you hear the voices?" she asked softly.

Dagan didn't want to listen, but he heard the voices on the wind just as well as she could. "You mustn't let them keep you from resting, Shamara."

"They pray to gods who can do nothing but listen to them."

Dagan turned her around in his arms and raised her chin to look down into her eyes. "All that many of them need is to believe they will be helped."

Shamara came closer to him and laid her head against his chest. "It doesn't seem enough."

As Dagan stroked her hair, he marveled at her selflessness. While she felt pain at the suffering of others, he resented that his time with Shamara would be so short. They had already spent too much time indulging in their selfish desires while Camrin was growing stronger. Dagan could feel his presence, strong and evil in the hills. He tortured men, women and children for his amusement while he waited for them to come, but Dagan didn't want his time with Shamara to come to an end so soon. 

Shamara's hands were on his shoulders, and she raised her face to his, inviting his kiss. As he obliged her, he was only vaguely aware that her hands slid down his arms, but he thought nothing of it until she ended the kiss as her hands covered his. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "But this is our destiny."

The room spun around them so fast that he had to close his eyes, and when he opened them, they were no longer in their plush suite at the Guerani Palace. Instead, they were in the dark, dank corridors of the servant's quarters of the ancient palace of the gods.

Dagan frowned at Shamara. "Why did you do that?"

"I had to," she told him as she stepped back. "I…I had no choice. Now I must go. I think Ulfyna is calling for me."

Dagan tried to catch her hand, but Shamara hurried away into the darkness. He was just wondering what he should do when he had a strong feeling that he should return to Dagmaeus' suite. Grabbing a pitcher of chilled water, he made his way back through the winding corridors until he came to a place he seemed to recognize. Pushing against the slimy stone, he heard a click, then a door slid open. Dagan slipped into the room.

"Ah, there you are Dagan. And you have brought water! You know my every need."

"That is why he was carefully chosen to serve you."

As Dagan approached Dagmaeus he saw that an older woman was comfortably seated amongst his cushions. 

"When was this determination made, mother?" asked Dagmaeus, his voice tight with censure. "I cannot remember a time when Dagan was not with me."

The woman that Dagan realized was the god's mother shrugged her shoulders as she turned her attention to him. When her eyes narrowed to slits, he turned away to pour the water into goblets. Dagan wondered if the all-powerful woman recognized that he was not the Dagan of this time and place.

"Dagan was born to serve and will serve into infinity." Queen Rahina took a sip of the water, but her eyes followed Dagan's movements. "These Guerani people are very talented in ways we do not even understand. I do not think that even they know their true potential."

"Perhaps we should fear them," said Dagmaeus with a lift to his brow.

His mother laughed softly. "They are ignorant, foolish creatures whose intelligence is only slightly above those beasts who breed on the plains. That is why they are so easy to manipulate."

Dagmaeus crossed to Dagan and took the pitcher from his hands. He swung around to face his mother. "Is that why you would use them like this object? Are you planning to fill Ulfyna with the essence of Mordraeus?"

Queen Rahina quickly stood, and Dagan could see that she was upset. "You don't understand!"

"I do! You would use her to do something you can no longer." Dagmaeus was furious. "How could you do such a thing?!"

Rahina began to pace, wringing her hands nervously as she walked. "You don't know everything."

"Ulfyna told me…"

"Ulfyna does not know everything." She stopped to look at Dagmaeus. 

"You still don't understand!" Dagmaeus grabbed his mother's shoulders and shook her. "I don't care what happens! I want Ulfyna! I love her!"

"Are you willing to sacrifice her to destroy the evil that Camrin will become?" demanded Rahina. "He has powers that are an abomination!"

"I will challenge him myself!"

"You cannot defeat him alone! The power of Mordraeus is frightening, and if he should become unleashed, he could destroy everyone. Camrin has some of that power, and should he learn to use it, you should fear him as well."

Dagmaeus frowned. "How were you planning to use Ulfyna?"

Rahina glanced towards Dagan. "Perhaps you should dismiss your servant."

Dagan would rather stay to hear her plan, but he bowed and walked back to the hidden doorway. Once he stepped into the dark, he paused for a moment, then turned to head back to the kitchens where he hoped to find Shamara. But suddenly a hand was over his mouth and he was shoved against the wall near the opening. Dagan recognized the odor, one he had associated with the boreworm on the Mars Colony. But now he realized what it truly was.

"If you want to live, I suggest you remain still," whispered Camrin fiercely in his ear.

Dagan did not move.

"The Guerani can absorb our essence, Dagmaeus! And the beauty is that they do lack the intelligence to understand what is happening," he heard Rahina say. "Ulfyna has a strong will, and I hoped that she could use that will to contain Camridaeus. You weren't supposed to fall in love with her, Dagmar! She was meant for Camrin."

"Camrin has shown no interest in her," said Dagmaeus.

"Why should he be interested in a girl who has given her heart to another?"

"Mother, perhaps you have misread the visions you have of the future. Camrin is harmless, and he and I are as close as any brothers could be..."

"Even you do not understand, Dagmaeus! How would he feel if he should ever discover that he actually is your brother?" Dagan felt Camrin stiffen, could hear the blood rushing through the other man's body and the rage that was building from deep within him. "Now he merely resents his lack of belonging, but I fear how he would react if he knew I was his mother."

"You should have worried about that when you sent Nazzar into the forest with your infant child with the hope that a wolf would devour it." Dagmaeus' was clearly disgusted with his mother. "Instead of showering me with your love, you should have spared some for your other son."

"I am sorry, Dagmar. The evil that is Mordraeus is part of him."

"Get out! I don't care why you did the things you have done. I only know that I won't allow you to continue. I am going to marry Ulfyna, and we will live out the rest of our lives together. I would not dream of using her Guerani abilities to extend my existence, nor would I use her against the brother that I love."

Dagan could hear Queen Rahina depart, but he was still trapped by Camrin. Dagan feared for Dagmaeus, but Camrin suddenly released him and stepped back. The evil in the air was thick as Camrin stood silently staring into the darkened passage toward his brother's room.

Finally the dark god said, "If you should speak of this to my dear brother, I will crush your precious Shamara like a bug beneath my heel."

Dagan didn't have a chance to respond before Camrin vanished in the dark.

"Dagan!"

Dagan stepped back into the room. He wanted to tell Dagmaeus about Camrin, but he couldn't. He feared for Shamara's safety because he sensed that the powers in Camrin had been unlocked by his rage.

Dagmaeus smiled at him. "I am going to marry Ulfyna as soon as possible. I cannot wait for the rest of our lives to continue together."

Dagan felt heartsick to know what the future held for Dagmar.

"Is this really happening, Shamara?" Ulfyna was glowing with happiness as Shamara wove tiny white flowers through her golden hair.

Shamara paused to smile at her. "Indeed, this is really happening. In a matter of hours, you will be the wife of Lord Dagmaeus."

"This is like a dream that has come true!"

If only Ulfyna knew the truth! Shamara sighed and fell silent as she continued to arrange the bride's hair. Only yesterday Dagmaeus had come to her and told Ulfyna of his plans to marry her. His father had not forbidden him, had, in fact, accepted his decision with delight. Queen Rahina was obviously in opposition, but she relented for the sake of her son's happiness. 

"The day cannot go by fast enough," prattled Ulfyna. She turned to look at Shamara. "I am afraid that I will not please my lord husband."

Shamara remembered her own groundless fears, and so she smiled and patted her cheek. "Do not worry, Lady Ulfyna. You could not displease him because he is so much in love with you."

"As I am with him."

A short knock at the door preceded the entry of King Iator. Shamara bowed low as Ulfyna rose unsteadily to her feet. "My lord!"

"Are you ready?" he asked as he held out his hand. "My son is growing impatient."

Ulfyna turned to look back at Shamara. "I don't know how to thank you, Shamara."

Shamara watched mutely as the woman left, and when Ulfyna had gone, she hurried out of the room through the hidden doorway leading from Ulfyna's chamber. Although Shamara was not familiar with the passages, she allowed instinct to lead her, and soon she came upon another doorway, which was opening. Dagan stepped into the corridor. She didn't give him a chance to realize that she was waiting before she flung her arms around him and pulled his head to hers.

He was stiff at first until he realized it was her, and when he did, he picked her up and carried her back through the door from which he had just come. Dagan dropped her on the pile of satin pillows on the floor, and when he joined her, she pushed him back when he seemed to have grown several more hands.

"We can't do this here!"

Dagan raised his brow. "Why not?"

"This is Lord Dagmaeus' bed!" Shamara was mortified that they were even lying on it.

Dagan snorted. "He's not going to be using it tonight."

Shamara thought of the extravagant decorating that had been done to Ulfyna's chamber to make it suitable to welcome her new husband. "I guess you're right."

"I haven't seen you in three days," said Dagan as he brushed his lips against her neck. "Have you missed me as much as I have you?"

"I still don't think this is right," she protested feebly, but she fitted her body to his. "Let's be quick, because I should get back to Ulfyna."

"I don't think she will need you. Now start thinking about me, Shamara."

Shamara devoted her thoughts and energies to Dagan, and it seemed like hours later that she remembered that she should have been attending to Ulfyna after the wedding banquet. The room had grown dark, but she was warm and comfortable snuggled against Dagan. Yet she sensed that he was troubled as they lay together.

"What is happening?" she asked, not raising her head from his chest. "Is this not what Dagmaeus and Ulfyna wanted? Did they not wish to join, and having been kept from it, reached across dimensions to seek our help by drawing us here?"

"I do not know," said Dagan with a sigh. "But I do know how Dagmaeus feels. His heart is full of love for her."

Shamara sensed accusation in his tone, and she raised her head to look at him. "You do not trust Ulfyna?"

"You know the legend as well as I do, Shamara. When he goes to her bed, she will already have given herself to Camrin."

Shamara frowned. "But…but I know that she loves Dagmaeus! I have not even seen her speak to Camrin! She would not betray Dagmaeus!"

"You know the legend," he insisted.

Shamara shoved him away and grabbed the shapeless tunic that was her clothing. "I cannot believe it! I will go see for myself!"

Dagan seized her arm to prevent her from leaving. "We cannot change what will happen, Shamara."

She jerked her arm away from him. "I know that! But I want to know the truth!"

"You are truly stubborn," he muttered as quickly pulled on his own clothing. "And you are going to get us killed."

"And those many times on Mars Colony you did not drag me into danger?" she retorted. Shamara grabbed his hand. Instead of the intense power she had grown accustomed to feeling from him she felt only warmth. "What…what has happened? Why is there no power?"

"I think we used it all up," he said with a chuckle.

Shamara smacked his arm. "I really don't think it is connected with _that_!"

"We had better be a little more careful then. I guess we aren't immortal."

They moved quickly through the dark corridors, and Shamara could hear the noises of the festivities through the walls. In the short time now that she had been with Ulfyna, Shamara had come to realize that these outcasts from Bayman were loathsome, selfish people. They took advantage of the natives of Calabria and used them like animals for whatever they wanted. Shamara, Dagan and Ulfyna were among the favored few. Shamara suspected that Rahina had chosen the three for whatever talent they possessed that was stronger than the other Guerani people. She also realized that Rahina had been studying healing arts from Nazzar and not the other way around. Ulfyna had already surpassed the powers of the woman from Bayman.

When they came to the corridor where Ulfyna's room was located, Shamara slowed the pace and they moved quietly to her door. Shamara was afraid for what they might see, but she needed to know the truth of the legend. Why would Ulfyna betray the man she loved on the day when she would finally be his wife?

She put her hand against the panel to the door, but Dagan stopped her. "Don't do anything foolish," he warned her.

Shamara looked back at him. "What do you think I would do?"

He shrugged. "I know you."

She ignored him and pushed open the panel a crack. The first thing that struck her was the odd odor, one that was familiar to her. She heard Dagan gasp, and she turned to look at him.

"I was right," he said with annoyance. "She is with Camrin."

"But…but that stench is the boreworm," she argued. "How is that possible?"

"Not the boreworm. Do you not recognize it? Although not as strong, the beasts of the Mars Colony stunk of this. They were creatures created by Camrin to stop us."

Shamara turned back to the door, and she pushed it open further so that she could peer inside. The sounds of what was happening were unmistakable, but Shamara forced back her sense of decency to look toward the bed. Ulfyna was giving herself to a man, that seemed to be her husband, but Shamara had difficulty making out his form.

Dagan whispered in her ear. "It's Camrin! Now let's leave."

"No, it's Dagmaeus," insisted Shamara.

The man with Ulfyna must have heard them. He raised his head, and for a split second, he appeared to be Dagmaeus, then suddenly he transformed into Camrin. Ulfyna cried out and tried to escape, but Camrin caught her and jerked her back beneath her.

"You will be mine, wolf-girl! I'll not let Dagmar have everything!"

The door opened and Dagmaeus walked in, and the smile on his face faded when he saw Ulfyna and Camrin together. Shamara shook off Dagan's hand and hurried into the room to Ulfyna who had burst into tears. 

"You are a little late, brother," said Camrin with a smirk as he rose from the bed. "But you can have what is left."

Dagmaeus stared with surprise at the scene before him. Behind him, the door opened to reveal Nazzar and Rahina who must have escorted him. Rahina grasped the sword of her son and thrust it into his hands.

"You must kill him! He his dishonored you!"

But Dagmaeus let the sword fall from his hand. "Why would you do this to me?" he asked Camrin, his voice full of hurt and confusion. Ulfyna was sobbing, and Camrin looked from her to Dagmaeus then to Rahina. Camrin seemed to realize that he had hurt one who did not deserve it.

Rahina made a sound of disgust and seized the sword. "If you aren't man enough to do it, I will." She lunged at Camrin, but Ulfyna suddenly threw herself in front of him to stop her. Ulfyna's eyes widened in surprise as the sword slid into her, and Shamara heard Camrin grunt as the blade found its way into him. Dagmaeus seized his mother and threw her back. Leaving Shamara behind, Dagan hurried to Dagmaeus, but he was thrown back when bright light suddenly surrounded Dagmaeus and he raised his arms. The room began to rumble with the very walls shaking, and from somewhere in the distance they could hear explosions. 

The door slammed open and Iator rushed in. He stopped short when he saw what had happened, but he paused only a moment before seizing Dagmaeus. "The mountain is erupting, Dagmaeus! What have you done?" 

Dagmaeus was not responding, and Shamara could see that he was in great pain and sorrow as he looked upon Ulfyna. 

"We must leave!" shouted Iator as he tried to pull his son from the room. "We'll all be killed!"

"This is how it should be!" cried Rahina as she grabbed Dagmaeus. "He must die with them!"

Iator struck his wife so hard that she stumbled away. "Take your foul hands off my son! I will not allow you to carry out your demented plans."

Rahina looked up at her furious husband, tears in her eyes. "You will doom us all! These creatures have to die!"

Shamara turned back to Ulfyna. She could see that the other woman was already dying, and Shamara doubted her healing powers could save her, but she reached out to her. Ulfyna grasped her hands, and Shamara could feel that life was slipping away quickly. Camrin was already dead, and yet Shamara could still feel his presence inside of Ulfyna as Rahina had wished. And yet Ulfyna was dying as well. This was Rahina's plan, to destroy them all.

"Dagmaeus, you must come with me now!" shouted Iator, shaking his son in an attempt to drag him from his lethargy.

But Dagmaeus did not seem able to move as he stared at the woman that he loved dying in Shamara's arms. The walls of the palace were crumbling around them and explosions seemed to be coming from everywhere. Iator tried to pull Dagmaeus from the room, but he was too strong. Rahina suddenly drew a dagger and stumbled toward Dagmaeus, but huge stones dropped as the ceiling caved in, driving her back, and the room shifted with the floor splitting down the middle dividing it with a molten lava stream. Rahina was trapped on one side of the room with Nazzar, Shamara and Ulfyna while Dagan, Dagmaeus and Iator were on the other. 

"No!" shrieked Rahina was frustration, gripping the dagger like a woman who had lost her mind. Shamara wondered if she had, indeed, lost all ability to reason.

"Help me, Dagan!" ordered the king who could not pull Dagmaeus from the room. "We must save the prince!"

Dagan seemed to be torn, and he looked back toward Shamara. She and Ulfyna were trapped, but Ulfyna was dying and Shamara would not leave her. Shamara knew as well as Dagan that he had to save Dagmaeus or their future would be lost. With one last glance that told Shamara how he felt, Dagan helped Iator drag Dagmaeus from the room, leaving Rahina and Nazzar behind with Shamara and Ulfyna.

Rahina laughed hysterically as she stood at the edge of the molten river, still gripping the dagger. "It is done! You cannot hurt anyone now, Mordraeus! You will die here today with me, as Camridaeus has, as Ulfynaeus will! You will all die!"

Nazzar went to Rahina, and Shamara was horrified to watch him seize the wrist of the hand that held the dagger, then he swung her arm back so that she drove the dagger into her own heart.

"You cannot change what will be, Rahina." Nazzar took her hands in his own. "I cannot let Mordraeus die this day. I will serve him well as you never did." Lightening streaked past through the window before thunder accompanied a massive shaking of the ground. Shamara knew that she was watching Nazzar drain the essence from the other woman, the being known as Mordraeus, and when he had finished, he dropped her lifeless body into the flow of lava. Then with one last malevolent glare, he leapt across the crevice and ducked out of the room, even as the floor began to shift again and the slab they were on tore away from the wall.

"You must go. Save yourself," whispered Ulfyna. There was blood on her lips, and Shamara could see the spirit slipping from her eyes. "I only wish I could have told Dagmar how much…how much…"

"He already knows how much you love him." Shamara didn't stop to think. She grabbed Ulfyna's hands tightly as she had seen Nazzar do. "And he will know some day, Ulfyna, that you did not betray him. You will be with him again."

"No, you must not!" moaned Ulfyna, and it was the last thing she was able to say as her spirit began to leave her. Shamara closed her eyes to concentrate. Somehow she would do this! She could not let her go!

When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the castle. She was still holding Dagan's hands, and they were on the balcony overlooking the hills. The light from both suns barely managed to penetrate clouds that had formed over the mountains.

Dagan was blinking down at her, also coming back to awareness, and when he realized they were no longer in the past, he pulled her into his arms and held her close. "You are all right!"

"What happened?" asked Shamara. But even as she asked it, memories of thousands of years seemed to come flooding back to her. Now she remembered everything that had happened to her since the moment that Nazzar left her behind with Ulfyna. She had barely managed to escape the sinking palace, and fearing Nazzar, she remained hidden in the hills for many days.

When she had emerged, the 'gods' had gone, and because of their displeasure beams of heavenly light destroyed the land. Shamara knew the truth now. Calabria had been all but destroyed by the fleet sent by Bayman. That anyone managed to survive the brutal assault that left the planet almost uninhabitable, was a miracle.

"I cannot believe I left you behind," murmured Dagan as he framed her face with his hands and looked into her eyes. "Can you forgive me, Shamara?"

She smiled as she put her hand to his cheek. "We are here, aren't we? Together again, you and I, as well as Dagmaeus and Ulfynaeus."

"We need rest, but we have no time. Camrin is out there. He has returned."

"As has Nazzar."

A knock at the door preceded the entry of Larya into the room with a tray of food. They were both very hungry, and after eating, they asked Larya to find Apolo for them. Shamara was anxious to tell him what they had learned and regretted that her mother could not hear the story.

Apolo arrived only moments later. "Larya told me that you needed to see me."

"What is happening to that mountain?" asked Dagan from the balcony.

"There was a minor eruption last night from the volcano that has been dormant for thousands of years," Apolo told him. He looked down at Shamara who had come to greet him. "Are you all right?"

She shook her head. "Dagan and I must go as soon as possible. Have Lord Duo assemble his men to escort us to the mountain."

"I can't do that. Duo has decided to take a retreat."

She sighed. "I had forgotten." Shamara had heard his prayers and despaired that they would not be answered.

Apolo grabbed her arms and lead her to a chair. "You are pale and trembling, Shamara. What has happened?" 

Shamara folded her hands on her lap. "You will not believe me, uncle."

"Why don't you try telling me?" He dropped to a knee beside her.

Dagan came to them and sat beside Shamara. He put an arm around her. "What we have to tell you may shake your belief in the gods."

Apolo did not respond. He waited for them to speak.

Dagan began. "Long ago, a ship arrived on Calabria from Bayman. Their landing was difficult, and as a result, they lost their means to return to Bayman. On that ship was Rahina, Iator, and a number of their followers, people who had fled Bayman."

"They did not come alone," continued Shamara. "Inside of them, they carried entities who had immense power."

"The gods!" said Apolo in awe. "The gods came from Bayman?"

"They were not gods," interrupted Dagan. "The were parasitic beings without form who needed a host to survive. For many years they coexisted with the people of Bayman, but when the technology of the people of my planet made it possible to detect them amongst the populace, they feared what they did not understand and undertook to destroy their race."

"Iator's brother had been infested by a particularly violent entity that had great power, and Rahina was able to trick him and kill him. But in doing so, she took the entity into her where she was able to contain it. She convinced Iator to take the survivors from Bayman, and he really had no choice but to do so, knowing that his wife and son were infested. Shortly after they arrived, Rahina gave birth to another son who carried the genetic material of the creature she was hosting in her body."

"That child was Camrin," guessed Apolo.

Shamara nodded. "Camrin did not come into his powers until he realized that Rahina was his mother. He has the power to transform his shape."

"I do not know the exact relationship my sister has with Camridaeus, but I know that Ryana has been in contact with him," Dagan told Apolo. "I have seen her change her shape."

Apolo looked at Shamara. "How can this be possible? You are talking about something that happened thousands of years ago!"

Shamara took his hands. "Do you not yet understand? For many years you carried the essence of Ulfynaeus inside you, passed to you from your mother. When I was born, you passed her into me with your breath of life."

Apolo was stunned speechless.

"That is not all," Shamara continued. "This all began when I took pity upon her and drew Ulfyna into me. When I did that, I also took the essence of Camrin."

"Camrin! Are you saying that Camridaeus was inside of me too?" Apolo's face became white. 

Shamara shook her head. "For a very long time, Ulfynaeus and Camridaeus coexisted inside of our ancestors, Ulfynaeus controlling Camridaeus. But when your grandfather lay dying with only Dax and Valerya at his side, he took both their hands. Ulfyna escaped into Valerya."

"And Camrin into Dax," murmured Apolo.

"I'm sorry," said Dagan. He knew of the pain and suffering Dax had given his children.

Apolo looked at them. "That is why Dax took my mother into him. I never understood why she referred to a beast living inside my father. Now I do. When she died, Dax was weakened and Camridaeus was able to gain control over him." Apolo covered his face with his hands. "I always thought that when my mother died, I had lost my father as well. He was never the same."

"My mother told me that Dax loved your mother," said Shamara as she put her hand on his arm. "She must have known that her death would give Camrin power, and she tried to strengthen Dax by pouring her essence into him, but they failed to contain him. She did succeed in hiding Ulfynaeus from him, because while Ulfynaeus never realized her own power, she also carried an entity inside her, the one that is inside me now. Camrin never knew whether you or my mother carried her, so he had to wait until the power manifested itself before he could know. That is why he did not dispose of my mother when she was born. He hoped to regain her power." Shamara put her hand on Apolo's arm. "Camridaeus made one last effort to regain Ulfynaeus, but you protected me."

"What became of Camrin?" asked Apolo. "Are you going to tell me that he no longer exists? He must have died with my father. What of the madman running about the Guerani Hills claiming to be him? Who is he?"

"I believe that he found another host," said Shamara. "The one known as Quatre Winner. Somehow he was able to pass into him during the time when everyone was distracted. I am quite certain that the message written in the cave on Mars Colony was not old, that Quatre Winner must have carved it himself."

"Our experiences on Mars Colony were created by Camridaeus," finished Dagan.

Apolo looked at Dagan. "What about you? How do you fit into this?"

"My ancestors have carried Dagmaeus within us," Dagan told him. "I have vague memories of helping Dagmaeus to escape the palace. We wandered for many days as the volcano ravaged the land. After a few days, a fleet from Bayman arrived hunting the last of the parasites that they realized had gone to Calabria. They killed both Iator and Dagmaeus."

"I will guess that Dagan drew out his essence."

"I had little choice," said Dagan. "Nazzar forced me to perform the ritual, and the people of Bayman could not detect it because of my Guerani blood. They took some slaves back to Bayman, and most did not last long. Nazzar and I were separated until relatively recently when he came to court to take me away."

"Nazzar is carrying the entity that was Mordraeus," concluded Shamara as she took Dagan's hand and was glad that she felt the power the came from within him. But she felt his shame as well. "You are not to blame for anything that has happened, Dagan."

"Nazzar has been responsible for our visions and our trances." Dagan looked at Apolo. "I did not realize that Nazzar was anything but an old man teaching me to control my powers, when all along he has been attempting to draw Dagmaeus from me and to use me to find Ulfynaeus and his son."

"We have not seen him since our marriage, a marriage he tried to stop," said Shamara. "He has gone into the hills, to reunite with Camridaeus and to await our arrival."

"If you think I understand any of this," said Apolo with a shake of his head, "you are as cracked as Nazzar or whatever his name really is. You speak as if you played some role in the events in the sacred hills."

Dagan and Shamara looked at each other before turning to Apolo. "We were there, uncle," Shamara said. 

"For whatever reason, Nazzar has used Dagmaeus to return to Calabria. For many centuries, the people of Bayman avoided Calabria and have only recently begun to trade here," pointed out Dagan. "I remember reading the histories of the two planets. Because society in Bayman was more advanced, they had no reason to trade with Calabria until Trey came into power. Nazzar had been very much in favor of my marriage with Shamara until our actual arrival on Calabria when he must have come to realize that she is the host of Ulfynaeus. Since then he has used his powers to keep us separated because he realizes that we are the only ones who can stop him."

"What do you think he wants? I cannot believe that such a creature is merely interested in retrieving a son that can only live vicariously through another individual."

"We won't know the answer to that question until we find him," pointed out Shamara. She put her hand on Apolo's shoulder. "Can you put together a force that can escort us into the mountains? We need only to be protected from Camrin's followers. I suspect we will not have to worry about Camrin until we reach our destination."

"What is your destination?" asked Apolo.

Dagan answered. "To the ancient palace of the gods. I am quite sure that Nazzar is headed back there."

"The place does not exist!" snorted Apolo. "I have spent considerable time looking for it and have found no evidence of it. A volcano eruption completely covered it, if it ever existed at all."

"We will be able to find what remains."

Apolo stared at Dagan incredulously. "You know the location?" He threw up his hands. "Of course you do, or rather Dagmaeus does."

"We need to leave as soon as possible. We don't really know what Nazzar is going to do."

Shamara looked at Dagan. "I'm not sure we know what we are going to do to stop him."

And she wondered if they had enough power between them to do so.


	37. No faith in the gods

**** __

Guerani Hills

The cold air had quickly lost its chill when the volcano had exploded two days ago. Trynity hoped that the lava flow would deter their progress, but it had headed in a direction further south. Their trek up the side of the mountain continued unhindered. Quatre, or whatever he had become, didn't seem to notice that the people who were following him were drifting away. He seemed to be of a single purpose now, and that was to continue on his way up a mountain that was seething with volcanic activity. They traveled in the day and camped during the night.

He did not allow Trynity to leave his sight, and he usually kept her at his side, but his treatment of her changed from moment to moment, one being tender and loving, the next cruel and merciless. In the last few days, the only thing that kept her going was the possibility that she could reach Duo. And that thought infuriated Quatre who seemed to have gained the ability to read her mind.

Now Trynity was stirring soup when Quatre stepped into the tent. He looked at her with disgust, then his lip curled into that sadistic smile that warned her that he needed his daily dose of inhumanity. She turned her attention back to the soup.

"I hope that is edible."

"Since I am also eating it, I have gone to the trouble of making it so."

Quatre grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her up. Trynity flinched, but she didn't cry out from the pain that he was inflicting upon her. He stared down into her eyes for a moment, then a slow smile spread across his lips. "That is what I like about you, Trynity. You have such spirit!" He threw her aside and Trynity stumbled before she caught her balance. Quatre had turned his attention back to the soup. He filled a small bowl and set it aside for her as if she were his pet, then he proceeded to eat.

Trynity cautiously approached the bowl, and when he didn't look up from his meal, she took it and tried not to eat too quickly. Quatre hadn't let her eat much in the last week, just enough to keep her strong enough to travel and wait on him. She finished her bowl and set it aside, then watched Quatre warily. 

He glanced at her after a moment. Trynity didn't see any feeling in his eyes, but then she knew Quatre had none. He enjoyed killing, had done so several times when men dared to question him. Macayl, her father and a handful of his men remained to follow him, but Trynity wondered how long it would be before they also abandoned him. The ignorant Calabrians thought he was a god!

By now they must have noticed her absence and set out to find her. Trynity hoped she could hold out until they found her.

"You are hoping that you will be rescued," commented Quatre. "Not a foolish hope, yet doomed to failure. I suspect that your knight in shining armor will arrive soon enough, and then I will kill him."

"Why are you doing this?" she dared to ask him.

Quatre set aside the now empty pot. "I am too tired to speak. Warm my bed for me."

"It is warm enough," she pointed out. 

Quatre laughed. "Don't be obtuse, my dear. I enjoy how our bodies fit together."

Before Trynity could retort, the tent flap was swept aside and Macayl entered. "I am sorry to bother you, my lord, but…"

She had no chance to finish when she was rudely shoved aside and Trynity was shocked to recognize Ryana of Bayman. She looked first at Trynity, then Quatre. "My lord, you will be pleased by what I have to report."

Quatre glanced at Macayl. "You may leave us."

Macayl scurried out. Trynity could see that the young woman was frightened, so she assumed that Quatre had sunk his claws into her as well. Ryana on the other hand had no compunction against crawling onto Quatre's lap and sliding her arms around his neck. They shared a kiss that made Trynity squirm in disgust. Perhaps Ryana would divert Quatre's attention from her for at least this night.

But Quatre jerked his head away after a moment, then glanced at Trynity. "I gave you an order."

"Are you enjoying your little toy?" asked Ryana with amusement.

Trynity tried to ignore her as she approached the fur-covered bed. Maybe she could kill him when he was his most vulnerable.

"How amusing," commented Quatre. "She's making plans to kill me."

"I would enjoy watching what you have planned for her," commented the princess with a smack of her lips.

"You told me that you have information. Must I torture it from you?"

"If only you would!" Ryana rubbed herself against him. "I wish you would beat me like you do your slave."

Trynity settled into the bed. She wouldn't mind watching Ryana beaten, but not for the same reason.

"Why does that woman interest you?" whined Ryana.

"Because she is a human with strong spirit. I have yet to break her." Quatre glanced at her, but she didn't look away from him. Trynity guessed she was playing into his hands, but then again, she knew that he disliked weak females to the point of disposing of them. That was why Macayl did not stay in his sight for too long.

"I hope you enjoy trying to break her." Ryana turned her attention away from Trynity. "I will be able to bring that imperial bastard to you tomorrow. Also, the sacred shield is headed to the ancient city as we speak. They left with a dozen of the best men to be found at the Guerani palace."

"Just as I suspected." He glanced at Trynity for a moment, then back to Ryana. "Bring Lord Duo here. Once we have him, we should be able to render Taeron ineffective. He would not wish any harm to come to his lord father."

"May I play with him before we kill him?" asked Ryana hopefully.

Quatre snorted. "Which one?"

Ryana laughed. "I intend to play with Lord Duo tonight. I also want the young and strong Taeron. He could last several days."

Quatre shoved Ryana toward the tent opening. "Get going now."

She tossed her hair, then smirked at Trynity before leaving.

Quatre soon joined her in the bed. He had only one thing in mind and it was quickly achieved. When he was finished, he rolled onto his back, and she heard him sigh. "This is no longer as amusing as it once was."

"Your plan concerning Taeron will not work," Trynity pointed out. She forced back her disgust of him and what had just happened. "He will not leave his duty to the princess to save his father. That would bring shame on their house."

Quatre glanced at her. "As if there isn't enough shame already on that house? Do you not realize that Duo's marriage to you has disgraced him in the eyes of the emperor? What respect would remain once it became known how I have used you?"

"You aren't going to let me live," she said dispassionately. Trynity wasn't foolish enough to cling to that hope. 

"I am going to let you live long enough to see how Maxwell reacts to you when he finds out about our little love nest here." Quatre chuckled. "I have come to realize that humans can be quite possessive of their women. I will enjoy fighting him again." He reached out to twirl a lock of her hair around his finger. "Did you ever tell Maxwell what Dax did to you?"

Trynity held her breath and looked at him. How could he possibly know? She had never told anyone how Imperial Guard Dax had tortured her.

Quatre was smiling and she realized that he knew. "You don't know what you are dealing with, Miss Stryfe. At the time I was very amused to control Dax, to push him beyond the limits of his sensibilities."

"Who…what are you?" Trynity knew now that this man was not really Quatre. She wondered if Quatre were still even inside of the shell that was his body.

"Does it matter?"

"You are Camrin," she guessed. Although she had come to the conclusion, Trynity could find no logical way for such a being to exist.

He nodded. "You are very clever, Dr. Nelson, but you have the name wrong. I am Camridaeus. All those years I was able to hide myself from you foolish humans in this body. As for Dax, he was too much a fool for me to control anymore."

"You mean that you could no longer control him," Trynity dared to correct him.

Quatre/Camrin frowned. "I suppose you do have a point. After he failed to kill his progeny, Arora and Apolo, I realized he would be of no help to me. I was amused to completely destroy him before I finally left him. If it weren't for his beloved Valerya…"

"You couldn't control her either," Trynity interrupted him. For a god, he was certainly lacking in simple powers.

Quatre grabbed her neck in his strong hand, and for a moment he kept her from breathing, and when she almost lost consciousness, he let her go. She gasped as she breathed in air. "I am not amused by your ridicule. You have no idea how difficult it can be to control the Guerani. Valerya knew he was losing the battle when she poured herself into him. She actually thought that she could keep me at bay without the help of Ulfynaeus." Quatre's lip curled in scorn. "Trust me when I say that Valerya paid the price for her miscalculation."

"In the end," said Trynity hoarsely, rubbing her neck to soothe the pain, "you still failed."

He raised his hand to strike her, then thought better of it. "None of it matters. Soon I will be united with my father."

"That day will never come," predicted Trynity. His insanity further fed her disbelief in gods. Whatever being he was, he certainly was not an all-powerful deity and she did not care if he could read her thoughts or not. 

Camrin only seemed to be amused by her. "Perhaps that is what I like best about you, Trynity. You are so stubborn in your contempt for gods that at least you have no illusions about the powers of Ulfynaeus and Dagmaeus. Their followers will be the first to die when I begin my reign."

"I'm not about to worship a fool like you."

"I don't want your worship, Trynity." He caressed her cheek and his eyes met hers. What he wanted or needed, she could never give.

Trynity turned away from him and closed her eyes. None of it mattered anymore. Camrin was some type of parasitic being that used others to maintain his existence. He was certainly no more than that. The question was how could he be destroyed?

"You don't have the power," he said out loud with a deep sigh, pulling her into his intimate embrace.

Someone out there must, she thought. Trynity wouldn't pray. There were no gods.

The ash from the volcano stung his eyes and made breathing difficult, but Duo had made the commitment to spend this time alone with the gods to reflect on his life. Remembering Trey's reaction to his announcement of his plans that morning three days ago when he had decided to leave, Duo winced. Trey was his friend, and Duo could do no less than to tell him the truth this time, especially about what Trynity had told him. Trey wanted to be supportive, but he thought Duo had lost his mind in leaving behind his responsibilities so that he could consider his future with Trynity. When Duo wouldn't listen to Trey's logical reasons to postpone his retreat, the emperor became furious, and Duo wondered what Trey would have done had Arora not calmed him.

The volcano eruption on the second day was a poor omen that Duo found difficult to ignore. Although he knew he should return, Duo needed time to think. He wouldn't be of any use to Trey anyway until he sorted out his feelings. That morning he had left Trynity, her confession and their subsequent cruel words to each other had distracted him from his duties. He had thought that he put his jealousy aside, but when Trynity asked him if he would have forgiven her, it erupted just as abruptly as the volcano had. He hadn't really forgiven her for spending her life with Lars Nelson, and hearing about her affair with Quatre Winner poured salt on that wound. He needed the direction of the gods to heal him.

But they weren't talking to him as he sat in the forested hillside near a stream from which steam now rose. When he had come out here as an imperial guard, he had found guidance or at least peace of mind in realizing after many hours of quiet reflection that he had to make his life on Calabria. Now with thoughts cramming his head of Trynity with other men, he couldn't think straight. Since the first time he had seen Trynity and Quatre together, he had guessed they shared some kind of intimacy that she did not want to admit to. He hadn't dreamed that she would have cheated on Lars. Would he have forgiven her as Lars had? Duo didn't think he could leave the mountain until he could answer that question.

And he didn't have the answer. She had broken his trust by not telling him about her pregnancy and she had broken Lars' trust in her by her affair with Quatre. Could Trynity ever be trusted? He couldn't help but wonder if she ever would have told him about Stryfe and Quynn if Stryfe hadn't tried to rig the blood test to Duo's favor. She had plenty of opportunities, and yet she hadn't spoken up, even to give her children a father when the only one they had ever known was taken from them by her lover. In a way, she had failed her children as well. Duo had tried to understand her social ineptitude, knowing that she had grown up isolated, far from any kind of society. She hadn't the opportunity to interact with people except in the most platonic way, even with her father. Her mistakes in understanding people and their reactions were only natural, but Duo had hoped that she had grown in that facet of her life. But Trynity still seemed incapable of trusting people to take care of her, and in doing so, she made it difficult for others to trust her. 

On Calabria, she was his wife now, but he knew she wouldn't stay, and Duo wondered if he even wanted her to stay. The girl he had fallen in love with was gone. Duo felt responsible for her disappearance although he knew she shared in the fault. He couldn't help now but to consider what their life would have been like together had he followed his gut instinct to stay on that ship and forget the plan to leave in the escape pod. He wondered if he would have badgered her into taking the fellowship then had to watch her suffer doing something that she now clearly did not enjoy. Would he have understood had she announced that she wanted to enroll in medical school? Could he have supported her and two babies or would he have had to take jobs like Lars that would take him away from her? How would she have handled that? He didn't want to imagine her turning to a man like Lars to ease her loneliness, and yet he couldn't help it. 

That brought him back to the question of forgiveness. Duo knew she wanted his forgiveness. That is why she asked what he would have done. Just like Lars, Duo had no choice. He had to forgive her, because he loved her. He wanted to hate her, but he couldn't. Maybe he was a fool like Trey had accused him of being, but he couldn't imagine his life anymore without her, whether she hurt him or not. He didn't really believe that she would hurt him any more than he could believe that she would have betrayed them had they not been separated. They would have made their life together work with the magic of their love. 

Duo snorted with laughter as he imagined Trynity's face if he told her that. Well, Trynity needed to lighten up anyway. She had her past with Lars, but her future was with him. The rest of their lives was too short to dwell on the past. He would come to know the woman she had become instead of expecting the girl she had been. He was already proud of what she had made of her life although it was far different from what he had expecting when they were young. He couldn't have imagined her helping people as she had on Mars Colony, and yet she did so with no thought to the cost to herself. Duo would return to the Wasteland Palace where he would convince Trynity that she need to stay with him. There was no question in his mind that she would. Trynity didn't want to admit that she loved him because she was afraid he would reject her. Would she ever get over that fear?

Although he was distracted by his thoughts, Duo's training had been so thorough that he heard the soft footfalls, long before he saw a woman approaching. Far away, at first she looked as though she had dark hair but he thought he must have been fooled by the setting second sun because as she came closer, he realized it was Trynity. His first thought was that he was glad she came to him because he wanted to talk to her openly about his feelings. 

His second thought was that she had no idea where he had gone. How had she found him? Duo believed in the gods, but he didn't believe in coincidence.

When she saw him, she seemed relieved and quickly closed the distance between them. Duo rose in time to take her into his arms when she threw herself at him. "I didn't think I would find you!" she cried breathlessly.

He used all his willpower not to react to the strong odor that he had associated with the boreworm that now enveloped him. Duo didn't want to believe that she had been with Quatre, but too much evidence worked against her. Trynity hadn't told him that Quatre had come into her room even after she told him of their affair. What was Duo supposed to think of that? Now she came to him reeking of Quatre's officious scent. Was he supposed to believe anything she said? Was he that gullible? Although he knew he was a fool, Duo had to give her another chance. He couldn't look into her chartreuse eyes without remembering everything they had shared.

"How did you find me?" he asked, knowing he had covered his tracks well. A skilled tracker wouldn't have been able to find his makeshift camp in the Guerani Hills, even if she could find one brave enough to defy not only the spirits of the long dead Guerani, but also the volcano.

"Taeron told me where to find you." She slid her hands up his chest and her clasped them behind his head. Duo was unpleasantly reminded of snakes. Trynity was lying to him. Duo had told Taeron that he was not to be disturbed and that he was to keep Trynity safe. Taeron had agreed, so Duo knew that Taeron had not brought her to the mountainside.

"Where is Taeron now?" asked Duo with a lift to his brow.

She pushed herself against him. "He is waiting for me just down the path."

"I would like to speak to him." Duo tried to step out of her embrace, but she held him tighter.

"Please don't punish him, my lord. I didn't really give him a choice, and he is just as concerned about you as I am." She smiled up at him, but Duo found that her winsome smile had no effect on him. And since when did Trynity call him 'my lord?' Hearing it almost made him laugh and tease her, but her lies drove off his sense of humor.

Not knowing what else to do, Duo decided to play her game. Slipping one arm around her waist, he slipped his fingers through her hair and tilted her head up. "I'm glad you are here, babe. There are some things I want to talk about with you."

"Must we talk?" Her pouting lips were definitely worth kissing.

Giving in to temptation, Duo bent forward to kiss her, but he changed his mind and pulled her arms from around his neck. Trynity made a sound that mingled irritation and disappointment. Perhaps after they had discussed what he wanted, he could give her what she wanted - what he wanted - but for now they had to talk through their problems. 

Taking her hand, he drew her down on the grass beside him, and when she would have crawled onto his lap, he pushed her back to arm's length. "We can't go on as we have, Trynity."

She stared at him without speaking, but he knew she wanted to be doing something other than discuss their relationship. 

Duo ran a hand through his hair, then reached out to take her hand. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Trynity. I thought I was doing you a favor."

"You did," she said with a shrug. "I really can't imagine what my life with you would have been like."

Duo raised a brow. How was he supposed to interpret that? He forged on anyway. "I even understand why you didn't tell me that you were pregnant."

"It has taken you long enough to realize that you really couldn't have been a good father," she said with a nod. 

"What do you mean by that?" Duo dropped her hand.

Trynity shrugged. "You know what I mean, my lord. Even if I had an iota of guilt over leaving you in the dark, seeing you with Taeron would have taken care of that!"

"I realize that I made mistakes with Taeron."

"I'm quite sure you would have screwed up the lives of my children." Trynity sighed. "That is all in the past, my lord. I am your wife now, so we have to look towards the future."

At least she had come to the same realization that he had. But her words stung him. "I think we may have traveled a bumpy path together..."

She laughed derisively. "Bumpy path? Is that what you would call it? I think we did the right thing by separating for a while, because I had the opportunity to experience so much more than if I remained trapped with you."

"Trapped with me?" It seemed as if Trynity were choosing the words to cause him the most pain. Was she avenging herself by driving the knife in his heart?

She seemed oblivious to the effect that her words had on him. "I should think that you would appreciate the knowledge that my experience has given me." Reaching out, she put her hand on his thigh. "We could put that knowledge to work right now, my lord."

Duo shoved her hand away. The thought of being with her now made his gut wrench painfully. Why did he think the gods had given him some insight when they could see the woman that had been hidden from him? "I think we should find Taeron so that he can escort you back to the palace."

When he tried to rise, she threw her arms around him and knocked him on his back. "I'm not ready to go back yet." Trynity straddled him, then leaned forward so that she was pressed intimately against him. "You are my husband. I think you have some duty to me. I didn't come out here to listen to you whine about what could have been. I want something now."

Duo used all his willpower not to beat her senseless. He did throw her off, then stood over her. "We are going to find Taeron now. We will discuss my duties to you when I return from my duties to Trey." As she stood and brushed off her clothing, Duo considered the colossal mistake marrying her had been. If Trey had seen her behavior and heard what she had said to him, he wouldn't lose any sleep in disposing of her. What would Duo do if Trynity did not return to the Cinq Kingdom?

She stood glaring at him for a moment, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. For just a split second he thought her eyes had become brown, but it must have been a trick of the fading light because they were soon again green with yellow flecks. "I suppose I will have to obey you in this. Very well, then let's go find Taeron. Maybe while you are sitting around out here eating berries and communicating with your gods, he can keep me company. If not, Lord Quatre would be more than happy to take your place in my bed."

Duo grabbed her arm and yanked her to him. "You can do with _Lord_ Quatre whatever you damn well please, but keep your filthy hands off my son." 

"Don't you trust Taeron?" she goaded him, sidling up to him, obviously making another attempt to get what she had come for. 

Seizing a handful of her hair, he tilted her head up and covered her lips with his. He knew Trynity well, how she felt in his arms, how she reacted to his touch, how she tasted. The woman he kissed now who seemed to be attempting to devour his mouth, was not Trynity. What she had said should have warned him that she was an impostor, but Duo was vulnerable and unsure of Trynity's feelings. He couldn't imagine how a woman could look so much like Trynity, and yet he knew that she wasn't the woman he loved.

He put most of his energies into distracting her with his kiss, and as he let her hands go where she pleased, Duo managed to tear strips from her clothing. She must have thought that he was tearing off her clothing because she didn't protest until he yanked her hands behind her back and tied them tightly.

"What are you doing?" she gasped, her tone a mixture of fear and excitement. 

Duo chuckled. "Don't you remember me telling you how Larya likes it? You spoke of experience earlier, babe, so now I'm going to show you what I have gained in experience."

She licked her lips in anticipation. "What does this involve?" Thinking she was going to be excited by this new development, she didn't even fight him when he tore another strip from her clothing and tied her ankles together. She didn't even question him until he was standing over her, hands on his hips. "What...what are we going to do now?"

"Certainly not what you are expecting." Duo pulled out a dagger and tested the sharpness before kneeling and putting the tip to the pulse at her throat.

She sucked in her breath. "You would kill your own wife?"

"Whoever or whatever you are, you are not my wife." Duo pricked her skin, and as he suspected, she recoiled and her shape changed before his eyes. "Ryana of Bayman!"

"Let me go, you stupid human!" She struggled against the ties, but he had tied them so well she would only tighten them if she continued to struggle. Ryana seemed to realize it, because she stopped. "You will regret this!"

Duo snorted. "You never give up, Ryana. Is this another of your attempts to get close to Trey? I thought your proposal to marry me on one of my trips to Bayman was ridiculous enough. How long do you think your little ploy now would work once we returned and people began to wonder why there were two of the same woman?" That she could change her shape should have surprised Duo, but knowing what he did of Dagan's powers, he knew that Ryana had her own special talents.

A slow smile spread upon her lips. "What makes you think there would be two?"

Her confidence sent a shiver of apprehension down his spine. "Where is my wife?"

"For all you know, she may have returned to Earth. Then again, she may be enjoying the hospitality of Lord Quatre, and I do mean literally enjoying."

Duo cut deeper so that blood surged out of the wound at her neck. "Where is she?"

There was real fear in her dark eyes. "I would be a fool to tell you when I know you will kill me anyway."

"You have my word as an imperial guard that I will not kill you." He pulled back the tip of the dagger. "Where is Taeron and where is my wife?"

She licked her lips nervously before speaking. "I imagine Taeron is back at the Wasteland Palace, punishing himself for allowing your precious Trynity to escape. As for her, she's been serving the needs of Lord Camridaeus since you left."

"Lord Camridaeus? I thought you said..."

"Fool! Camridaeus has come into his powers! He no longer needs the identity of Quatre Winner."

Duo could only draw the conclusion that Quatre Winner was the lunatic stirring up the followers of Camridaeus and he had become deranged enough to believe that he was the dark god reincarnated. "Where are they?"

"Do you actually think she would want to return to you when she has known the touch of a god?"

"I'm losing my patience. Where are they?" To prove that he was serious, Duo cut her again.

Ryana tried to struggle again, then stopped when the bindings became too tight. "Let me go and I will tell you."

"We have already made a deal, Ryana, and I'm beginning to think you aren't going to keep your end of the bargain." He raised a brow. "I'm a pretty good tracker, princess. I would rather you save me the time by telling me, but if you do not, I think I will find them on my own."

She took a moment to weigh her options and came to realize that he would take her life without any qualm. "The camp is on the next ridge."

Duo turned in the direction she indicated and he saw a thin line of smoke in the distance betraying the presence of a campfire. 

"You aren't going to leave me here?" she asked when he started to walk away. "Some wild animal could come alone and devour me."

Duo turned back to look at her. "I suppose that would be breaking my part of the bargain." He strode back, then hefted her over his shoulder.

"Where are you taking me?" she shrieked fearfully.

He grabbed a high tree limb and pulled himself up. He climbed up the tree as efficiently as he could with her struggling to escape, and when he thought he was high enough, he settled her amongst the branches, tying her securely with another strip from her clothing. "That should keep you safe enough. The worst that can happen will be that canyon buzzards peck out your eyes."

"You bastard!" Ryana dared not struggle because if she did, she would probably break the branch and fall to her death.

Duo scrambled down the tree, then looked back up at her. She glared down at him. "I'll be back after I finish with Quatre Winner."

Ryana laughed coolly. "Then I will say good-bye to you now, Duo Maxwell, because Lord Camridaeus will not let you live to see the first sun rise."


	38. The final conflict

**__**

Guerani Hills

Much later during the night in a rare moment when Trynity thought that Camrin was actually sleeping, she tried to move away from him, but he slipped his arm around her waist and dragged her to him again. Struggling would only arouse him, so she forced herself to be still, and soon he relaxed against her. Trynity stayed awake staring into the dark for a long time wondering how she could get away from him. Too many people watched her movements, all of them probably afraid she would make a run for it and their dark god would punish them. They were sheep worshipping a wolf that would have no qualms about eating any one of them at any time.

"You are so right, my sweet," he murmured sleepily.

Trynity sighed. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you are not a sheep, Trynity." He rolled her on her back and propped himself on an elbow to look at her. "Since the moment you tried to hold off Dax's army with your bow and arrows, I have been fascinated by you. You remind me of another."

"Ulfyna," she guessed, remembering the story that Nazzar had told of Ulfyna protecting the wolf.

"She was stupidly brave also." He caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I know that you would like to study the organism that I am, but you would not understand, even with your extensive knowledge. Suffice to say that although only four of us remain, together we have enough power to destroy this entire system."

"You are right," she conceded. "I doubt that I could understand where such power can come from within the confines of the knowledge my people."

"We are not gods," he told her softly.

"There are no gods," she agreed. If there were, just once she wished they would have some mercy on her.

He drew her into his embrace. "Perhaps the gods will have mercy on you, Trynity."

"I have no privacy from you," she grumbled. 

"Not even in your thoughts."

"What are my thoughts telling you now?" she asked with annoyance.

In the dim light of the moons, she saw him open an eye. "That perhaps you should take care of your personal needs now."

Trynity was glad he could read that thought because she didn't think she could wait until morning to relieve herself. Camrin made no move to follow her, probably because he knew from reading her mind that she had no plan for escape. Where would she go? The terrain was unfamiliar to Trynity, and to make matters worse, there were scorching tributaries from the lava flow. As she stepped from the tent, she had to wave away ash that floated on the air. Trynity could certainly now give an adequate definition of hell.

Although she expected it, Trynity was still annoyed that Macayl followed her to the small pond where she decided to wash herself after taking care of her most basic needs. Macayl shifted nervously but did not say anything as Trynity removed most of her clothing and slipped into the warm water. She could scrub forever and never remove the stench of that foul creature, so she didn't bother. Now she understood why the Calabrians had complained of the scent of the boreworm and she reeked of it having spent so much time now with that beast. In a few days, perhaps sooner, that would come to an end then Camrin would probably kill her because he no longer had a use for her, just as he had killed Naiya, and Dorothy before her. Trynity was just the flavor of the day.

Trynity hated this place. She had hated it the first time she had come to Calabria. The men did not respect women, and even now only pretended to feel otherwise toward a sex they considered weak and useful for only one purpose. Their honor was what counted most, and because of her, even if Duo did manage to escape whatever dire plan Camrin had for him, he would have no honor left in his house. The people of this world were primitive, still following the man who wielded the most power. They could travel amongst the stars but continued to live like the meanest creatures on their own planet. Calabria was not civilized and never would be. She wished she could be gone from here forever. Nothing was worth staying for.

Just as she was considering returning to her clothing where Macayl waited wringing her hands, she felt her ankle catch on something. Trynity tried to pull it free, but whatever it was began to sink taking her with it.

"Help!" she called out to Macayl. She struggled to keep her head above water. "I can't get out of here!"

"I cannot swim, my lady!" cried Macayl frantically before turning on her heel and dashing away for help.

Unfortunately, that didn't help Trynity. She didn't know what was pulling her in, but soon she couldn't keep her head up anymore. Descending deeper into the water, Trynity tried to hold her breath, ceasing struggle, which did nothing to help her anyway and only used up her energy. Some bizarre Calabrian water creature had trapped her and was dragging her to its underwater lair to devour her! Obviously lack of oxygen was making her delirious because she was certain there were no such creatures on Calabria.

Just when she decided to give up the struggle, she felt something on her mouth, and she realized it was another person's mouth. She blew the air from her lungs out her nose and just as quickly she received oxygen through her mouth from the other person. Strong arms pulled her against a hard body and they sunk even further in a seeming bottomless pond. Trynity was sure the man was a merman even though no evidence of their existence could be found. What was she thinking? Had she completely lost her mind to consider such possibilities?

Suddenly they were ascending, and when they broke the surface, they were far from where she had originally gone into the water. Near the opposite bank, they were hidden beneath thick foliage hanging over the pond.

"She's here somewhere!" Trynity recognized Camrin's angry voice.

"My lord, she must have drowned!" cried Macayl. "I would do anything for you my lord, but I could not save her."

Through the foliage, Trynity could see Camrin looking around into the dark, over the shimmering dark waters, then he turned his attention back to Macayl. "One woman is as good as another in the dark. Go back to my tent and take her place in my bed."

Trynity heard Macayl whimper as if frightened, but she hurried to obey. Camrin stayed a moment longer, looking out over the now calm black waters of the pond and she could almost feel his gaze passing over them. But he did not say anything before turning on his heel and following Macayl back to the camp.

Trynity sighed with relief and turned to the man who was holding her. She half-expected Taeron, so she was mortified to realize that it was Duo. "How…how did you find me?!"

Shaking his head, he put his finger to her lips to warn her to silence, and then he helped her from the water. Trynity didn't even get a moment to catch her breath before he dashed away from the pond, dragging her with him. She found it very difficult to keep up with his long strides, but Trynity understood the necessity of putting as much distance between them and Camrin as they possibly could. Duo probably realized just as she had that Camrin wasn't fooled into believing she had drowned. Even now he might be tracking her with his psychic powers. 

Her lungs were burning and her legs were aching before he finally came to stop. She knew it wasn't for him to rest, and she wondered what kind of training imperial guards were subjected to in order to make their bodies so inhumanly strong.

"Where are we going?" she asked breathlessly.

He didn't answer her right away, then he said, "I don't really know."

"We can run forever and we couldn't get away from him," she predicted tearfully, then dropped to her knees and covered her face with her hands. She didn't want Duo to see her, and she didn't want to see his face when he looked at her.

"Babe, I never thought that you were a quitter."

She spread her fingers to peek at him. He wasn't looking at her, but staring out toward the mountain whose top was glowing orange as it spilled its insides. "I quit a long time ago, Duo. I can't fight anymore. You don't know what…what…"

Duo turned around to look at her. "After I figured out that Ryana wasn't you, she was quite vocal about what you were doing. What I don't understand is how you managed to escape Taeron."

"I wasn't escaping," she argued lamely. "I wanted to find you, first to …to… well, I don't even know why I went looking for you. Then I realized that Orhan was the traitor and I thought I could help you by telling you…"

Duo knelt before her and pulled her hands away from her face. "I know why you were looking for me Trynity."

She dared to look at his face and the sweet expression made her heart turn over in her chest. "You do? Maybe you could tell me."

He caressed her cheek. "I found the peace I wanted, Trynity. The gods are merciful."

Trynity didn't know how to respond, except to say, "I have never stopped loving you, Duo."

There was a surprised look on his face, and she thought it was for what she had said until his hands went to his chest. Trynity looked down and saw a red stain spreading over his tunic, a blade protruding outward for a moment before it disappeared back into his body.

"I never did like him."

Duo fell on his back, and Trynity saw Orhan hovering over him, the blade of his sword dripping with blood as Camrin stood back watching with no expression. Trynity turned back to Duo, and she quickly crawled to him. The blood pumping out his wound was slowing, and she knew that if she didn't do something soon he would die.

"You'll be all right," she told Duo, her voice shaking. Her thoughts were whirling with medical impossibilities. Orhan had severed an artery, and there was no way Trynity could stop the blood. Not wanting to give up, she pushed her hands on the wound although she logically knew the futility of saving his life. Even in the high tech trauma center on L12, he wouldn't have a chance. 

"I won't let you die," she insisted to Duo who was staring up at the sky, the light from the second moon reflecting in his darkening eyes as his pupils dilated. Trynity's heart seemed to stop in her own chest as she realized his chest no longer rose and fell, that the blood was seeping slowly from his body. 

"No!" she sobbed as she threw herself against him. "Don't die on me!" She looked up at the sky and shouted to the merciless gods. "I won't let you take him! I won't!"

Despite Apolo's warning that she should be accept the will of the gods, Trynity couldn't let Duo die. She would rather be the one to die, and if she could give her life to save him, she would do it.

Concentrating as she did that day in the village, Trynity put her hands on his wound and closed her eyes. She would heal him! She would bring him back from the edge! She would not let the gods take him!

Please don't let him die, she silently begged whatever god would listen to her, but she felt nothing until a hand laid over hers and she heard Camrin's voice. "The gods can be merciful."

Her heart leapt with joy when she began to feel the same healing warmth flow through her that she had when she had been with that child. Then she felt herself drawn away from her surroundings. 

__

For a moment she seemed to lose consciousness, and when she awoke, she was at first disoriented. No longer on Calabria, she was unsure where she was until she recognized the gundams lying dormant in a transport hanger. A movement rocked her and almost made her fall, but she caught her balance again.

Then she heard Heero's voice over an intercom. "Duo! Strap in! We are headed to a bumpy ride."

Trynity turned toward the gundam Deathscythe where she saw Duo as he was almost twenty years ago, folding a paper. He set it on the seat, then slipped out of the cockpit and scrambled to the floor. Trynity tried to move toward him, but she seemed to be paralyzed. She wanted to stop him from what he was about to do, but she realized she wasn't really here and when had happened could not be changed. As with the little girl, she had entered his mind and she was only an observer. He walked over to the escape pod and jerked it open. Then he glanced around, his gaze resting for a moment on his gundam before he turned back, hopped up and slid half-way into the escape pod. The power on the transport was draining into the wormhole, and the transport was rocking like a ship tossed in the waves of a storm at sea. Trynity knew what would happen next and her heart ached to witness it.

But suddenly Duo pulled himself out of the escape pod and quickly shut it. He slammed his fist against the door, then grabbed the handle to keep his balance as the ship was tossed again. After a few moments, the transport cleared the hole. Duo shook his head, wiped his hands on his pants, then scrambled back up into the Deathscythe. Once there, he took the paper and was tearing it into little pieces when the door to the hangar opened. 

Trynity watched a younger version of herself walk in, her face white, and she knew exactly what that young woman was feeling as she prepared to give Duo the news that would change their lives forever. 

Except this time Duo hopped out of the gundam and came to meet her. "Hey, babe, you okay? You don't look too good."

"I haven't been feeling too well lately." Trynity remembered rehearsing in her head what she would say to Duo, how she would tell him. Now this other self was saying to him the words she never could many years ago because in this surreal place he was still there! He hadn't escaped back to Calabria!

Duo put his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. "Whatever it is, babe, we can handle it together. Don't doubt me, Miss Stryfe. I love you." Now Trynity was looking into his eyes, not standing back as an observer to something that could have happened seventeen years ago but didn't. "I'll always be with you, no matter what. No one could ever be as happy as you have made me. We are one, Trynity. Do you understand that? Nothing can separate us. Nothing."

He leaned down to kiss her, but before his lips touched hers, he faded away, just as the hangar faded away leaving her staring into darkness. 

From far away she heard someone say, "Allow me the pleasure of finishing her, my lord." Then she felt a hand in her hair and a sharp blade against her throat before Orhan's face came into her line of vision. Trynity couldn't move even if she had any will to live.

So she closed her eyes and searched for Duo in the darkness.

But he was gone.

"Praise the gods you have found me!" Ryana was profuse in her gratitude as Taeron slit the cloth keeping her tied in the high branches of a tree. But when he cut through the last, he let her fall, making no attempt to catch her, and the princess screeched as she hit several branches on her rapid descent to hit the ground at Dagan's feet.

Taeron landed near her after swinging from branch to branch. "You can save your thanks, princess. You reek of Camrin, and this camp is my father's. What have you done to him?"

Ryana looked at Dagan with pleading eyes. "You cannot believe him! I came upon Lord Duo's camp…"

"Save you lies!" Dagan slapped his sister's face and she fell back at Taeron's feet. 

Shamara came forward. "Tell us where Lord Duo has gone."

Ryana glanced warily at Taeron, inched away ever so slightly, then said, "I do not know. I was sent here to seduce him." Before their eyes, she transformed into the image of Trynity, then quickly back. "I…I …wasn't able to fool him."

Shamara wrinkled her nose. "I am sure Lord Duo could smell you when you were many miles away."

Ryana glared at Shamara, and then turned her most charming smile on Dagan. "You believe me, don't you?" 

Dagan looked away. He could not believe this vile creature was his sister. "Did Nazzar send you to Mars Colony?"

She raised her chin defiantly. "Lord Mordraeus sent me to Mars Colony to keep an eye on you."

"What does he want?" asked Shamara. She was looking forward to giving Taeron the order to kill Ryana. The woman was malicious, and the way she was looking Dagan made her flesh crawl. 

Ryana glanced at Shamara as if she were a low creature who should not have dared to speak. "He needs to absorb Camridaeus in order to re-gain his strength."

"What?" Dagan was appalled. "He is going to destroy his own son?"

"I would gladly give my life to my father." She threw her head back in laughter when Dagan started in surprise. "That's right, Dagan! Seighen is not my real father! My mother was one of Mordraeus' followers, and when he realized where Dagmaeus was hiding, he sent her to seduce Seighen. She was already carrying me, and he was such a fool that he believed I was his child."

Dagan took a step toward her with his fists clenched, but Shamara stepped in front of him. "Camrin doesn't know about Mordraeus' plan, does he?" asked Shamara. 

"Camrin is a fool!" Ryana laughed hysterically until Taeron backhanded her face. She fell back, still cackling to herself. "He has had a millennium to absorb Ulfynaeus, and yet he has failed. Even worse, when there were no Guerani at the mountain camp eighteen years ago, he made a connection with the human Quatre Winner. His utter stupidity caused him to be drawn away from Calabria, and so Mordraeus has to wait even longer to fulfill his destiny."

"What is his destiny?" demanded Dagan, grabbing a handful of her clothing and dragging her up until she was face to face with him.

"Once he has returned to his full power, he will exact his revenge on all those who killed his people." Ryana giggled uncontrollably. "He will destroy Calabria and Bayman with his power, a power you could not begin to imagine."

Dagan released her, but Ryana suddenly drew a knife and lunged at him. Her head was rolling several feet behind her before she even reached him. Dagan, shocked and trembling, looked at Taeron as her body fell forward still twitching. Taeron shrugged, then wiped the blade of his sword on Ryana's clothing.

Shamara frowned at him although she wasn't too sad at seeing Ryana of Bayman die. "I think we could have used her for a little more information, such as, where Camrin's camp is. We have to stop him from reaching Nazzar."

"My father left a trail," said Taeron. "I am sure it will lead us to Camrin's camp."

"We had better continue to the summit," Dagan told Shamara.

Taeron nodded. "My father is able to take care of himself. We cannot take the chance that Camrin will still be where my father will find him."

"I'm all for finding Camrin," said Quynn as she checked her gun to see that it was loaded. "Quatre Winner's body or not, I'm going to pop him several times for the hell he has put us through."

"That is his specialty," remarked Amyr.

Suddenly Shamara felt weak, and she reached out for Dagan, but he also seemed to lose his balance. Quynn rushed forward to catch Shamara and at the other woman's touch an intense, black void suddenly struck her. Before she could stop the outpouring of what had caused it, Quynn looked quickly at her eyes and they blurred with tears.

"It's not true!" Quynn gripped Shamara tighter. "They are not dead! They can't be!"

Shamara wasn't sure what she felt, but Quynn had apparently had a clearer vision. Amyr hurried to take Quynn into his arms as Apolo helped Shamara to her feet. The young woman was sobbing and Stryfe went to her also. Taeron looked at Shamara, and she could feel the emotion running through him as his eyes begged her to deny what Quynn had felt.

"I think I should find them," said Apolo calmly. Dagan came to take Shamara into his arms. "You must continue on your mission."

Shamara looked at Taeron. "You cannot make this trip with us, Taeron. You should be with them." His eyes misted and she knew he was fighting a public display of his grief, but he nodded with gratitude.

Dagan took Shamara's hand, and without looking back, they left the campsite. They didn't speak for a while as they ascended the mountain, but when they stopped to rest after what seemed to be several hours, Dagan said, "Your gift is a curse, Shamara."

She looked down at her hands. "I didn't mean for her to learn of their fate. I wasn't sure what I felt."

"I felt it too. Camridaeus used his powers."

"Do you think he killed them?"

Dagan knew that Shamara was almost as close to Lord Duo as she was to her own father. "I am sorry, Shamara." He put his arms around her and she wept on his shoulder.

When her tears had subsided, she said, "I think he was given a second chance at the end. The gods are merciful."

Dagan closed his eyes. Who were the gods? Did they actually exist? What he had believed his whole life was a lie! Even the powers that he had been so honored to have were not even his! What was he? Who was he? Who was Shamara? Did they even exist separately, or once they had done what they had been born to do, would they disappear into the swirling mists of the Guerani Mountains?

"We cannot worry about us," murmured Shamara as she raised her head. She held his head between her hands. "I believe in the gods. You must believe, too, Dagan. My…_our_ people worshipped them long before the people of Bayman arrived. For a time they believed they had been gifted with the presence of the gods although they have proved to be quite false. That does not mean that the gods are not real."

Dagan looked at her with raised brows. "Are you telling me that I am not a god after all?"

Shamara managed to smile although she still felt heartsick. "In some ways, you most certainly are."

He grinned at her. "We will discuss this at some length when we have concluded the business with Mordraeus."

They continued on in silence in the night that was lit by the moons and the glowing top of the mountain. Shamara wasn't afraid as long as she was by Dagan's side. She still trusted in the gods and knew that they would not abandon them when they needed them most. And they did not make this trip alone. When she touched Dagan's hand, she felt the power of Dagmaeus, and he surely felt Ulfynaeus within her. This pursuit was not only theirs, but that of the two who had been wronged thousands of years ago.

The ascent became so steep that their progress was slowed. They struggled up the rocky incline, finding precarious hand and foot holds, clinging to roots of ancient unearthed trees long gone or recently scorched by the volcanic activity. They barely spoke to each other, but words were unnecessary between them at this juncture. Shamara expected them to be standing at the edge of the volcano rim when they finally reached the summit, but as they pulled themselves over the edge, they found themselves on a tilting plateau, the edge of which hovered over the mouth of the roiling molten opening.

Pausing to catch her breath, Shamara looked around, as did Dagan and both realized where they were at the same time. She recognized the crumbling stone ruins of the ancient palace of the gods.

"They were not gods."

Turning toward the voice, she saw Nazzar sitting on what had once been the throne of Dagmar's father. He sat with his hands folded on his lap, looking like an old man incapable of harming anyone. Shamara wondered how he would look in his real form.

"I have no form," Nazzar told her, staring straight at Shamara. There really was no need of speech between any of them, yet he spoke any way. "Just as you have no true form, Ulfynaeus. Together we could be the suns or the moons or the stars. We were there at the beginning of time and we will be here at the end of time."

"Why would you want to be immortal?" asked Shamara. She could feel Ulfynaeus' essence stirring restlessly within in her.

"You cannot even begin to understand, foolish, weak Guerani." Nazzar glared at Shamara and she felt his strong hatred. "We only wanted to live peacefully on Bayman, those few of us who remained, and we did so for thousands of generations. And then they discovered our existence and sought to wipe us out."

"They would have succeeded if it were not for Iator," Dagan pointed out.

Nazzar snorted with derisive laughter. "Iator was led about by his stinking whore of a wife! When she realized that I was in the body of her husband's brother, she had no qualms about seducing him so that she could extract me for herself."

"You are lying!" Glancing at Dagan, Shamara could see the form of Dagmaeus. "My mother tried to stop you!"

"Your mother wanted my power until she realized that she couldn't control me!"

"And when she realized that she couldn't..."

"She created Camrin by taking power away from me. But I will regain that power! Camridaeus will come to me and we will be united. Once we have done that, we will defeat the sacred shield, and I will take your power as well. I will destroy this entire system in retribution for what the people of these worlds have done to us."

"You will never succeed," stated Dagan boldly. "Your defeat was foretold by a Guerani woman thousands of years ago."

"From the Guerani will be born the sacred shield who will prevent the god of destruction from exacting vengeance on the people of the binary system," added Shamara.

"Do you think you can stop me?" Nazzar smirked. "You can try. And when you are unable, I will have my revenge by destroying this rotting planet, and then I will destroy Bayman." He gestured to the sky, and both Dagan and Shamara looked up to see that the suns were rising, but the moons remained in the sky.

"What is happening?" asked Shamara fearfully. In all her life she had never seen an eclipse. Such a thing hardly seemed possible in this binary star system.

"My son arrives," announced Mordraeus.

They turned to see a man approaching, and as he came closer, Shamara and Dagan recognized the form of Quatre Winner emerging from the darkness, bathed in the eerie red light from the volcano. 

"It took you long enough," scolded Mordraeus. "And you are weak! You used your powers for selfish purposes."

The man Shamara realized was Camridaeus, nodded to the old man. "I had some unfinished business."

"You bastard!" Shamara knew that he was responsible for killing Lord Duo and his wife. "How could you do such a thing?"

He looked at her. "My dear Ulfynaeus, after so many years of sharing our existence, you can still ask that question? Those humans were responsible for returning Trey to Calabria, and in doing so, allowed the Sacred Shield to form."

"You should have stopped it long before then," scolded Nazzar with annoyance. "You had many chances to kill the Guerani progeny, and yet you did not."

Camrin folded his arms over his chest. "I did the best I could. As Dax, I killed every Guerani I could get my hands on."

"You did not kill the right ones."

Shamara saw that Camrin was bothered by his father's rebuke, and her Guerani sense told her that Camrin had feelings contrary to Mordraeus' desires. "He did not kill Valerya because he loved me."

"Fool!" Camrin took a step toward her. His hands clenched and unclenched and the ground beneath them shook. "That is not true!"

She stepped toward him although Dagmaeus tried to hold her back. "You said yourself, Camrin, that we spent many years sharing our existence. Do you think I did not know of your feelings? You used your powers that night when I married Dagmar so that you could be with me, to know how it felt to be loved. Because you were never loved, not by your mother, not by your father."

Camrin put a hand to his chest. "You do not know how I felt when I learned of my own mother's treachery!" He looked at his father. "She was going to kill me! She wished to trap me forever within the very woman I wanted as my own!"

Mordraeus grasped the arms of the throne, his knuckles were white, clearly showing the anger he felt. "How dare you let these insipid mortals play you as a fool?!"

"You never tried to stop her! You never acknowledged me as your son!" Camrin was clearly overwhelmed by the emotions that were a legacy of the countless beings who had held his essence inside as well as the woman who had given him life in the first place.

"Shut up and come to me now!" Mordraeus rose to his feet and held out his hands. "Come to me, my son."

Camrin started to walk toward him, but Dagmaeus took a step toward him, stopping only when Shamara grabbed his hand. "Do not do this, brother!"

Camrin looked from his face to their hands, clasped. There was sadness his eyes. "I wanted love. I wanted to feel it just once." His gaze locked on Dagmaeus'. "You received everything I wanted."

"Do you think he can give you what you crave?" asked Ulfynaeus speaking through Shamara, and she felt the turmoil that the other woman felt. The healing essence of Ulfynaeus sensed the pain of the dark soul standing between them and the oblivion toward which he headed. She had a desperate need to soothe his aching spirit. "How can you forget the special bond that forged between Dax and Valerya? We were part of that bond, Camrin! You and I! Will you break it so that creature can have its revenge?"

When Camrin seemed confused by her words Mordraeus roared with anger. "Come to me now! Once you have taken your place, you can have anything or anyone you desire!" When his son didn't respond, Mordraeus turned his fury on Dagan and Shamara. Before their eyes, he transformed into a gigantic beast, snorting fire and breathing noxious fumes. He charged toward them, and Dagan clenched Shamara's hand tighter as the power flowed between them, throwing out the shield that protected them from his first assault.

The beast dropped back a few feet and stood over them, roaring so loudly that huge sections of the ancient palace dropped off into the roiling lava below them. He swung out at them with his colossal paw, knocking them over and back. 

Shamara lost her hold on Dagan and he rolled several feet away. She tried to scramble back to them, but the beast swiped her away and she was barely able to seize a scraggly old tree to keep from falling over the edge of the steep mountain. She dangled precariously over the edge, many thousands of feet above the Guerani foothills. Shamara was more aware at this moment than any other that she was no immortal god, nor was Ulfynaeus or any other essence that made up her being. And she realized for the first time that she and Dagan had been wrong about their unusual power together. They could not defeat Mordraeus on their own! Even now he could be killing Dagan!

Suddenly she felt a strong hand around her arm, and she looked up to see that Camridaeus was hauling her back up. The energy that flowed between them was equal to what she had felt with Dagan. Their eyes met, and for a moment, she felt that he understood what must be done. But Camrin quickly released her and moved away.

The beast was snarling over Dagan as if he were a cat playing with a mouse. Dagan was only inches from the edge of the mouth of the volcano and Shamara gasped in horror as a huge plume of lava shot straight into the air behind him. She looked back at Camrin. "You must help us!"

"Why should I help you?" he demanded. "You heard my father! I can have anyone if I join with him, and that includes you, Ulfynaeus!"

As Shamara took a step toward him, she knew that he wasn't seeing her, but he was seeing Ulfynaeus. "You can never have my love, Camrin! I could never love you! I love Dagmaeus! And I know that you love him too because he was the only person who cared about you! Despite everything you did to him, he cared about you! He loved you!"

Camrin put his hands to his eyes. "No! Do not do this to me! I know what I must do! I must obey my father!"

The beast snarled and seized Dagan in its jaws. He jerked him around, then tossed him in the air. Shamara had no more time to try to reason with Camridaeus. She used her imperial physical training and dashed toward the creature, but she did not attack. She leapt, then used its body to leap higher in the air and managed to grab a hold of Dagan's tunic. She held tightly, praying that the cloth would not rip, and she knew her reward when they hit the moss-covered flagstones of the old palace. The monster roared in anger and turned on them. Shamara threw herself over Dagan to protect him, fully expecting them to die on this final attack.

But Camrin came to stand between them and the beast. "I know my destiny, father."

"Do you?" The voice of Mordraeus was cold and evil. "Come to me, son."

Shamara thought Dagan was unconscious, but he stirred beneath her and she moved to allow him to rise to his knees. She took his hand although she knew they power wasn't strong enough to defeat Mordraeus.

"Wait," said Dagan weakly to Camrin.

The other man turned to look at him. "This is all I have, brother."

"You are mistaken." Dagan held out his hand to him. "You know in your heart that your destiny is not with him."

"Quite the dilemma," commented Mordraeus' chilling voice from within the beast. "Come with me and live forever, join with them and die."

"You will not die," said Shamara as she held out her hand. "Your destiny is with us."

"She is lying!" shouted Mordraeus furiously.

"You know that we tell the truth." Dagan did not take his eyes from Camrin. "All that you are to him is a key to his power."

"All you are to them is the final piece of the Sacred Shield!" retorted Nazzar.

Camrin's surprise clearly showed in his eyes and he turned his head to look at Nazzar. "What?"

"You are an idiot!" blurted Nazzar angrily. "You don't mean anything to them! You are my son. I created you!"

"Our mother created you," said Dagmaeus speaking through Dagan. "After taking some of Mordraeus' power for her child to weaken him, she asked Nazzar to hide the child from him. After Iator brought you back to the palace, she searched among the Guerani to find a vessel strong enough to contain the three of us. That vessel was not Ulfyna." He looked at Shamara. "She meant to seal the three of us inside of you."

"The foolish woman! She has failed! Come to me, Camrin! Together we will rule the universe!"

"He has no intention of sharing his power," Shamara told him. "He needs to reabsorb you."

Dagan walked close to Camrin. "Did I ever lie to you, Camrin? Even when I did not know you were my brother, I accepted you as I would any brother."

Camrin turned around to look at him. "That is true. Even when I resented you, even when I insulted you and ridiculed you, you never turned away from me."

"Don't listen to him! He only wants to use you! He took Ulfyna from you! She was meant to be yours!"

Dagan held his free hand out to Camrin. "You will know the truth."

When Camrin took Dagan's hand, Shamara learned that the truth was just as they suspected. Rahina had created Camrin as the final part of the Sacred Shield. Without him, they could not defeat Mordraeus, but with him they could stop Mordraeus from destroying the galaxy. 

Camrin looked from Dagan's face to Shamara's, then he held out his hand to Shamara. When she took it, she was jolted by the overwhelming power that flowed between the three of them. For a moment they stood joined like this, then they were lifted from the ground, levitating as the even more power gathered between them. Shamara felt the power slipping away flowing upward from the three of them into the sky. Once she felt it released, she fell to her knees as did Dagan and Quatre Winner. They could do nothing but watch as three spheres of light swirled around each other over and over, closer and closer until they become one. 

The creature rose up to face it, as it shot downward with blinding speed, burying deep within the shape-shifter. For a moment, the beast stood still, then the light began to shoot out from it until it was engulfed. The world shook as the mountain rumbled, and what remained of the form Mordraeus had taken exploded outward. Shards of light rained down upon them, lighting the sky around them for several minutes.

Then the world was dark as the light disappeared completely.


	39. Mercy of the gods

****

Guerani Hills, Calabria

Shamara must have lost consciousness, because when she came to, the first moon lit bathed the hills with soft light. AT first she found it difficult to move because she was so weak, but her strength returned slowly. Turning, she saw that Dagan was lying near her and he was also waking. 

"Are you all right?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Dagan slowly moved toward her. "Are you?"

She nodded. "I … I feel different."

He took her hand and she felt nothing more than the same human warmth she had felt in their last trance. "They are gone."

Shamara felt saddened and couldn't keep the tears from her eyes. "They sacrificed themselves for us."

Dagan pulled her close to him and folded her in his arms. "They were not part of this world, Shamara."

She knew he was right, but she couldn't help her sadness for the terrible mess Rahina had made of the lives she had touched and created. And with Ulfynaeus gone from within her, Shamara felt as if part of her was missing. She would have to learn to go on without her.

"We should get back down the hill," said Dagan as he gently helped her to her feet.

Shamara looked around. "Where…where is Quatre Winner?"

Dagan shrugged. "I don't know. He must have come around before we did."

Shamara sighed. "He must be very confused. I think Camrin had a strong hold on him."

On their way down the mountain, they were extra careful, not only because they were weak from their ordeal, but also because they no longer had the power of gods to rely on. Not gods, Shamara reminded herself. There was no sign of Quatre Winner, so Shamara wondered if he had been unable to cope with the things Camrin had done while using his body and had taken his own life. She half-expected them to find his remains on the way down, but they didn't. By the time they arrived in the foothills, both suns had risen. They continued on until they stumbled across an abandoned camp that must have belonged to Camrin. All that remained was a man who had been skewered to a tree with three spears. The man was Orhan. Shamara hated to admit to herself that it looked like Taeron's work. 

At mid-afternoon, they came upon a village where they were praised as saviors. A messenger left immediately to inform the governor at the Wasteland Palace that they were alive, and Dagan and Shamara rested while they waited for her Apolo to arrive. The people viewed them as deities, and she guessed that all of Calabria was already worshipping Prince Dagan and Princess Shamara. She could do without that, especially now when she felt particularly frail and vulnerable. Dagan's arm around her was her only strength.

Apolo arrived accompanied by Amyr, but Taeron was in lapse of his duties as the crowned prince's imperial guard. A handful of soldiers escorted them instead. 

Apolo hesitated in touching them at first, then he hugged Shamara. "I thought you were dead!"

"I figured so," said Shamara with a half-smile.

Apolo looked at them strangely, as if he were trying to determine their status. "Are you…are you …?"

Dagan chuckled and put his hand on his shoulder. "We are no more gods than you, my lord. And we are hungry and tired after our ordeal."

"Needless to say, we thought the world was going to come to an end." Apolo told them later on their way back to the palace. "But Trey informed us that Lady Virineia had predicted the eclipse many years ago while mapping the system."

"Mordraeus wanted to frighten you and us with his power, and he used his knowledge of the stars to do so." The palace was in view when Shamara asked, "Where is Taeron?"

Apolo sighed. "He is keeping the vigil at his father's side."

A tear slipped down Shamara's cheek. She didn't want to ask when they would hold the ceremony to lay his body to rest. "Is...is my father there?"

Apolo nodded. "He would have come out to greet you himself, but he is quite overwrought by Lord Duo's passing."

Dagan took Shamara into his arms and she was glad for the comfort that he gave her. But in his touch, she could no longer read his thoughts. Looking up and seeing his raised brows, she realized he could not read hers. 

Dagan looked away from her to Apolo. "Quatre Winner left the mountain before we did, but we did not see him on the way down."

"That may explain the theft of the spaceship from the Cinq Kingdom from the Wasteland Fortress during the chaos," Apolo told them. "Do you think that he took Trynity with him? We could not find her body, and yet she must be gone as well. I warned her not to defy the gods in using her healing..."

"Quynn and Stryfe must be devastated," interrupted Shamara with a glance at Dagan. Trynity's attempt to use her healing power to save Duo must have angered the gods and that was why they had felt such a weakening of their own powers before they headed up the mountain.

They didn't discuss it any further as they had reached the palace and Shamara didn't waste any more time before hurrying to Duo's chamber. The lord was lying on his bed dressed in ceremonial robes. Taeron, Quynn and Stryfe stood nearby comforting each other with Dr. Stryfe and Lady Virineia. Larya, sitting by the bed, rose to go to Apolo who took her hand. Shamara saw her father and mother standing by the window, and she hurried to greet them, throwing herself against her father and giving vent to the tears that choked her. He held her tightly and whispered in her ear how happy he was that she was alive. She then went to her mother and hugged her as well. Shamara knew that her mother had many questions and she would answer all that she could. At least she could give her mother peace in knowing that Dax had loved both her and her brother, that he was guilty only of being unable to control a being with the powers of a god.

Dagan joined them, and after he received hugs, he and Shamara went Taeron who was standing now with his mother and Apolo. She hugged him in silence for several moments, then she asked quietly "Do you know what happened?"

Apolo spoke. "When we came to the camp, most of Camridaeus' followers had already scattered, but Macayl was still there. She told us that Orhan stabbed Duo from behind when he was helping Trynity escape and that Lord Camridaeus was enraged by what Orhan had done to Trynity. He was the one who killed the traitor."

"The bastard took my mother's body!" sobbed Quynn, and she buried her face in Amyr's chest to cry. 

"Camridaeus is gone," Shamara said. "If anyone took your mother's body, it was Quatre Winner."

"Or whatever was left of him," commented Dr. Stryfe with a grunt.

"From what I understand, the creature's symbiotic grip on the host is quite consuming," added Lady Virineia. "I cannot imagine how that man is feeling now, especially if he was cognizant of all the things Camridaeus did while controlling him."

Stryfe chuckled hoarsely. "Mom would have loved to study that."

Shamara went to the bed and she stared for a moment at Duo's lifeless body. After all that he had suffered for making one terrible mistake, she prayed that the gods were merciful enough to give him peace in his new plane of existence. If the relaxed expression on his features were any guide, she would say that they had been. Sadly, she reached out to touch him, and she had expected not to feel anything, her powers having left with Ulfynaeus' essence. But feelings and memories came rushing through her so strongly that she stumbled back from the bed. Dagan hurried to her catch her in his arms, and she urged him to touch Duo. Dagan was skeptical at first, but he did as she asked and his reaction was the same.

She looked quickly at Apolo. "He is not dead!"

"What?!" Now everyone hurried to the bedside as Apolo touched Duo. "I don't feel anything."

"You felt it, didn't you?" Shamara asked Dagan.

Dagan nodded. "Lord Duo is alive, but he is in a trance."

"A trance!" exclaimed Trey in disbelief. "How can that be? I find it difficult enough to believe that Trynity could heal..."

"Her healing power was very weak, " said Apolo. "She could not have healed Duo from the wound he received from Orhan."

"It is possible that he is in a deep coma," pointed out Dr. Stryfe. 

Shamara looked at her father. "A very powerful form of healing has put him in the trance, but I can't say that it is Guerani. If Dagan and I can detect it, but not Apolo..."

"You must have some residual power from Ulfynaeus and Dagmaeus left in you," finished Arora. "That would mean..."

"That Camridaeus must have healed him," finished Apolo with surprise. 

Shamara understood now why Mordraeus had been angry with his son. Camridaeus had used his power to heal Duo and put him in this trance. Could that possibly mean that he had helped Trynity? 

"He...he cared about my mother," spoke up Quynn hopefully. "Could he have...?" She didn't seem to want to give herself false hope by finishing her question.

Shamara didn't respond because she didn't know what had become of Trynity. Instead she said, "We don't know what is happening in his trance, but if we cannot draw him back, his body will soon wither and die. We do not have the technology that you do in your system to sustain his life."

"And that damn wormhole is closed!" snapped Quynn. "We couldn't even take him back to L12, and if Mom is alive, we wouldn't know that either!"

Shamara looked at Apolo and he nodded. Surely the gods had a reason for closing the passage between their systems. "We can't worry about that. We have to help Duo here. We have to get through to him," Shamara told them, looking to each of them. "We must call him back to us."

**__**

Cinq Kingdom Colony L12

"…And I really don't know what I am going to do with Chaz. His term of service in the space guard is coming to an end and all he wants to do is sit around the house eating cheese curls and drinking beer. I told Heero to have a talk with him and the next thing I know the two of them are puking drunk playing a virtual game."

The voice seemed so far away and yet so close. Trynity's head hurt even trying to figure out where it was coming from, so she tried to go back to sleep, but that droning voice kept going on and on.

"And I found out today that Shaina quit her ballet lessons four months ago and she's been bribing the teacher to send me glowing reports!" There was a long, dejected sigh. "I just don't know what I am going to do."

Cut off her allowance, Trynity thought.

"Did you say something?" Relena's voice sounded excited. "You are awake!!"

Trynity realized that her eyes were open, and she saw Relena pressing the emergency code button near her bed. The light from the window was blinding and Trynity had to blink several times to accustom her eyes to it. The doors burst open and a team of emergency doctors and nurses rushed in, but when they saw that there really was no life-threatening emergency, most quickly left although a doctor and nurse stayed behind to attend her. By the looks on their faces, Trynity knew they were shocked to see her awake.

She tried to talk, but something was preventing her, and then she realized she was on a respirator. Trynity didn't know how she had come to be here. The last thing she remembered was Lars leaving for L12 to get…no, that wasn't right. Lars was dead. Duo had returned from Calabria, and then…no, that wasn't right either. Duo was dead too. She remembered everything now.

As the doctor listened to Relena's excited screeching, Trynity closed her eyes, and she saw Duo's face, so peaceful and calm.

__

"The gods are merciful."

Was this merciful, she wondered? Was this her punishment for having tried to defy them? 

"Don't cry, Trynity!" Relena was dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"I'll have to ask you to leave, Mrs. Yuy," she heard the doctor say and Trynity was relieved to have a return to some peace and quiet.

Although she argued vehemently, Relena finally did leave under threat of being carried out by security. For the next several hours, Trynity suffered through extensive medical testing, but when it came to an end, she had been disconnected from the machines that had kept her alive for six months. The doctor didn't need to tell her she had lost the baby. She had been fortunate, from his point of view, not to lose her own life. He could not find a definite physical injury to treat, and she could not explain to him how she had come to be in her condition, suffering a near fatal coma. Trynity wasn't sure she understood any of it. 

When the doctor was satisfied that she was in stable condition, he told her that a psychologist would be in to see her, then he ordered the nurse to add a sedative to her intravenous line. Trynity watched the nurse, but she didn't say anything to either her or the doctor because she wasn't sure she could speak. Fortunately, she could nod or shake her head to answer his questions. 

After the doctor left, Relena bustled back in, and Heero followed her. Relena looked happy enough to burst, but Heero seemed more somber.

"The doctor says you might be able to leave next week. I insist that you stay with Heero and me. You still have a long way to go before you recover fully, and I want you to do it with me. I will take care of you."

Trynity felt woozy from the sedative, but she forced herself to look at Heero. "Where are Quynn and Stryfe?" she managed to ask although she sounded as if she were speaking with cotton in her mouth and her voice came out sounding worse than a seventy year old smoker.

Relena and Heero looked at each other before Heero spoke. "I'm sorry, Trynity, but they haven't returned."

"They hate me," she whispered. She couldn't blame them after all that had happened because of her foolishness and insecurity.

"That's not true!" cried Relena. She gathered Trynity in her arms. "They haven't returned because they can't. The wormhole closed shortly after Winner brought you back. It hasn't opened since."

Trynity wanted to burst into tears, and she wanted to shout her curses at the cruel gods that Duo had been so fond to worship. But she couldn't. Oddly enough, she felt a strange sense of calm and she remembered Duo's last words to her.

__

"I'll always be with you."

She sighed, then said, "They'll be all right."

Relena held her close. "Quatre told us about Duo."

"I'm all right," Trynity told her, forcing a smile to her lips. "He'll always be with me in my heart."

Tears spiked Relena's lashes, and she turned away so that Trynity couldn't see her cry. Trynity looked at Heero because seeing Relena's grief was painful to her.

He took Relena's arm. "Let's let Trynity have some rest."

Relena wiped her cheeks. "You will stay with us."

Trynity nodded before falling asleep.

When the psychologist paid her a visit on the following day, Trynity didn't refuse the counseling she provided, and she decided to take Relena's offer to stay with her for a couple of months before she decided to return to Earth. When Noin called to offer her a job at the Royal Academy where she would take a position in the science department pending her father's return from Calabria, Trynity accepted. The Trynity she had once been would have been terrified of the new life that was now hers. That Trynity had a father to take care of her, children to nurture and friends to watch over her. Now she had no family and she was leaving her friends to strike out on her own. But Trynity now understood that the physical presence of the people she loved was not nearly as important as knowing that they did love about her and would be there for her if they could. The resentment she had carried within her so long for what Duo had done had disappeared with that realization. She wasn't afraid for herself, and she wasn't afraid for her father and children. If she never saw them again, she could be confident that they would make good lives for themselves. And the love she would always feel for Duo, would sustain her for the rest of her life.

The transport on which she traveled made a scheduled stop at L11, so Trynity paid a visit to Sally Po and Wufei. They were delighted to see her, and they talked for a long time about their adventures in the past. At the end of the conversation, Trynity broached the subject that was uppermost in her mind.

"Heero told me that Quatre is on L11."

Wufei and Sally looked at each other as if they didn't trust her with the information, then Wufei said, "Do you want to see him? Heero must have told you that he is not really himself."

"He goes through the motions of living," Sally told Trynity, "but I get the feeling that he isn't really alive."

Trynity knew that Quatre hadn't been alive for many years. "I would still like to see him. I have something to say to him."

They took Trynity out to the beachfront property where Quatre lived attended to by one old and trusted Winner family servant. As far as anyone was concerned, Quatre Winner was dead. Many people had suffered under the reign of terror that had been orchestrated by Camridaeus while in control of Quatre's body. They wouldn't be able to understand what had really happened, that the man they would punish had been as much a victim as they had. The man who sat on the verandah overlooking the artificial sea was a drained shell who didn't really seem alive. As Trynity sat on a chair across a table from him, he didn't even look at her, although she wouldn't be able to see even if he did because he was wearing darkly tinted sunglasses. 

At first she didn't say anything, and she waited until the servant left behind a tall glass of cold lemonade and she drank some before she finally did speak. "Heero told me that you were here." He didn't respond. Trynity took another sip of her drink. She looked out at the water and watched the waves. They were computer generated so while they looked real, the random program repeated so often that they could not be mistaken for anything but artificial. Yet she found the sight somewhat mesmerizing and knew why Quatre spent his days like this.

She didn't know how long they sat like this, in silence, watching the calming waves, but when the shadows began to lengthen over the tiles of the patio, Trynity realized she had to return to Wufei's home soon to say goodbye. The transport would be leaving in a matter of hours.

The servant came out with a blanket, but Trynity took it from him and she draped it over Quatre's lap. Then she dropped to a knee beside his chair, and very gently she slipped the sunglasses down from his eyes. They had been open, but he quickly closed them. She set the glasses on the table.

"I came here to say something to you, Quatre. Actually, I have a couple of things to say." A breeze ruffled his long blond hair, so she pushed it back from his face. He flinched when her fingers brushed his skin. She knew exactly how painful this was for him, but Trynity couldn't leave with loose ends dangling. "I want to thank you for bringing me back. I think I would have died on Calabria, and I want to live."

He opened his eyes, and when he looked down at her, she saw the deep sorrow and regret, but he didn't seem to be able to speak.

Trynity touched his hands, which were clasped on his lap. "I would forgive you, Quatre, if I thought you had done anything that needed to be forgiven. I know the truth, and perhaps some day you will realize that you were not responsible for anything that happened."

He didn't respond. Trynity straightened, then leaned to whisper in his ear. "Stop blaming yourself." 

She started to walk away but she stopped when he heard his voice. "I think it would have been kinder to leave you as you were on Calabria, but _he_ left me with that last imperative, to return you to your own people. Even after he was gone, I didn't have the will to disobey him."

Trynity didn't turn around. "I am sorry, Quatre."

Then she left him behind. Trynity hoped he could find some peace as she had.

**__**

Ulfynaeus, second moon of Calabria

"I'm glad that Amyr is paying another visit so that you have the opportunity to learn more about running this government."

Taeron chuckled. "Amyr is not paying _you_ a visit, father."

Duo laughed. "Yes, I do know that, but whatever the reason, you are here." The window was open and both suns were shining. He could hear the sound of Quynn's teasing voice floating on the wind. Duo had no reason to fear any impropriety because she knew the rules: Lady Virineia was in the garden with her to avoid any temptation. Although in the last few weeks Duo had caught the emperor's mother in very compromising situations with Ivan Stryfe senior. Perhaps she wasn't the best chaperon after all when Quynn was entertaining the crowned prince of the empire.

He smiled to himself. It was good to be alive!

Taeron was looking at him with a raised brow. "You are in a good mood."

"I haven't been presented with any problems yet today." Duo looked back at Taeron with a smile. Had it not been for this young man, he might be dead, because it had been Taeron's voice that had drawn him away from the world his mind had created. He hadn't heard Quynn and Stryfe because they were a part of that world, but the more he heard Taeron urging him to return, the more he realized what was missing from that perfect life he had created with Trynity in his mind. As painful as it had been to leave, Duo forced himself back to the conscious world, and the first face he had seen was that of his Calabrian son.

"Do you wish to train today?" Taeron now asked him.

Duo didn't want to admit to his son that he was starting to feel a little old to be swinging around his sword. "Perhaps later."

Taeron nodded. "I understand."

Taeron probably did understand, but he didn't seem disappointed. "Why don't you put Amyr through his paces," suggested Duo. "I haven't seen him with a sword in his hand in a long time."

"He is only interested in watching my sister," lamented Taeron with a sigh. 

That was the truth of the matter. Amyr was a talented fighter, but lately Quynn distracted him from training. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was in love, and if Quynn returned the affection, she didn't betray her feelings about the crowned prince. Any Calabrian woman would be honored to have Prince Amyr doting on her, but Quynn wasn't so easily swayed. Amyr would have to prove to her that he could be steadfast and loyal, something Duo was having serious doubts about. Duo was just glad that Trynity and Lars had raised her to have a level head on her shoulders. He was proud to claim her.

A knock at the door drew their attention, and a servant announced the emperor. Duo frowned as Trey walked in followed by Dagan and Shamara. "I wasn't expecting you, Trey. Are you really here, or is this another of your hologram communications?"

Trey half-smiled at him. "Which do you think?"

Duo raised a brow and glanced at Dagan and Shamara. Shamara was holding a squirming baby, and by the less than pleasant odor, he knew they were real unless Trey had amused himself by devising a technology to transport smell. Thinking that he was going to have the last laugh by walking straight through Trey's hologram, Duo was somewhat embarrassed when he knocked down a very real emperor.

"What the hell are you doing?" demanded Trey with annoyance as Taeron hurried to help him up from the floor.

Shamara giggled behind her father and Duo heard Dagan chuckle.

The look on Trey's face made Duo laugh too. "Well, you can't blame me. You know I hate those holograms."

Trey managed to find the humor in the situation, and he snorted with laughter. "As you can see, I am real this time. On a whim, I decided to accompany my daughter, her husband and my grandson to the moon to say good-bye, and possibly find out what my son is up to here. Arora wanted to come, but she wasn't feeling well."

Pregnant again, thought Duo with a sigh.

Trey frowned at him. "I know that look! You'd be better off if you got yourself a woman and concerned yourself with those matters."

"I don't need fifty children around my ankles," replied Duo.

Trey smiled and put his hand on Duo's shoulder. "The children are merely a pleasant consequence."

Turning his attention to Shamara, he went to hug her, then took her three-week-old baby son from her. "I think he looks a little like Dagan."

"He looks a lot like Zeno," grunted Trey.

Shamara laughed and took her baby back. "Right now he needs to be changed. I think I heard you volunteer to do the honors, father."

Trey frowned at her, but he took the baby and walked out the door grumbling, "I'm the only one who knows how to properly change a diaper anyway."

Duo was chuckling about that when Dagan spoke. "We would be honored, my lord, if you would accompany us back to Bayman."

"I promise it will be the last time!" said Shamara quickly when she saw that he wasn't interested in leaving. She joined hands with Dagan. "We will be remaining on Bayman. Dagan and I are eager to begin our new life there."

"Is Seighen eager to have you back?" asked Duo with a glance at Dagan. He remembered the difficulty Dagan had in proving himself to his people. What Dagan didn't need was a rejuvenated Seighen undermining his authority.

Dagan nodded. "Oxana has made his golden years the best of his life. He wants us to return as soon as possible so that he can retire to some grand villa with her."

Duo put his hands on Shamara's shoulders and he looked into her eyes. "I can see that you are happy."

She smiled up at him. "I couldn't be any more so."

"You are not worried about me?" Duo feared that she didn't understand that he was feeling satisfied with his life. What happened in the past, he could not change. As simple a solution it now seemed, it had suddenly hit him head on when he had been on his retreat in the hills. He could and did forgive Trynity in his heart for the mistrust she had felt when she did not tell him about their children. No one was to blame. They had made the same silly mistakes other teenagers made, and that was all they had been. Circumstances beyond their control had blown them out of proportion. Too bad they couldn't have resolved that issue before they were separated again.

Shamara answered his question. "I know that the gods have finally given you peace, Duo."

"Have you given up hope of seeing Trynity again?" asked Dagan warily.

Duo smiled and put his hand to his chest. "She is here." None of them had any proof that Trynity was still alive, but Duo knew that she was. If they were never able to be together again, he could still be grateful that he had once known such love.

"I would be honored to accompany you, father," said Taeron. "I never did get a chance to make the first trip."

"What is this I hear about trips?" Quynn sauntered into the room followed by Amyr, Lady Virineia and Stryfe. 

"I have been asked to accompany Shamara and Dagan back to Bayman."

Quynn laced her fingers and cracked her knuckles. "I'd love to go on that trip. I haven't been on a flight for months."

"If Taeron is going, then I suppose I should go with him," pointed out Amyr.

Quynn rolled her eyes. "Who is in charge, anyway? Is he your guard or is it the other way around?"

"I've wondered the same thing myself," grumbled Trey who had returned with the baby, which he slipped into Shamara's arms. She, in turn, passed him to Dagan who was obviously proud of the child they had created. Duo was glad that the gods had granted them love after what they had been through.

In the end, Duo and Taeron left with Quynn, Stryfe, Prince Zieben and several honor guards while Amyr remained behind to administer to the moon at the insistence of his father. The trip through space had been uneventful, and arriving on Bayman, cheering crowds greeted Prince Dagan and his Calabrian bride. Shamara and Dagan no longer possessed any special powers except for those that were inherent from their Guerani ancestry, but they did not need them. Shortly after Seighen welcomed back his son, he abdicated his throne, and the people were happy to welcome their new king.

Duo and his entourage stayed on Bayman a couple of weeks before returning to Ulfynaeus, the moon now named in honor of the Guerani wolf-girl who had won the heart of a 'god'. The first moon was now referred to as Dagmaeus, and the name of the highest peak in the Guerani hills, the now dormant volcano had been named Camridaeus. The tale Dagan and Shamara had told them of what happened in the sacred hills was nothing short of incredible. The cults that had popped up in the Calabrian and Bayman system quickly dispersed as news spread that none of the beings were actually gods, but parasitic entities using innocent people to carry out their vengeance.

When Duo finally arrived back at his home, he was immediately set upon by Stryfe and his grandfather as well as Lady Virineia. He hadn't heard anything about the wormhole opening up again, so he couldn't imagine what had them so excited.

Dr. Stryfe spoke first even before Duo could sit down behind the desk in his office. "I've found it!"

"Were you missing something?" Fortunately Dr. Stryfe hadn't spent the last few months trying to blame Duo for Trynity's disappearance. They had been living quite peacefully together.

"He has found it," repeated Lady Virineia, stressing the last word.

Duo was about to pick up a paper, but he hesitated and looked up at the older woman. She was smiling. He quickly looked at Dr. Stryfe. "You have found the route back to our solar system?"

"It's unbelievable, but true!" exclaimed his son.

Dr. Stryfe was so excited he could hardly get out the words to explain that in comparing the charts Lady Virineia had made and those that he had brought with him from Earth, they were able to discover that while there were some inconsistencies, they could identify some common threads. 

"But we couldn't get them to fit together perfectly. The pieces of the puzzle just didn't make a picture," said Virineia.

"Then we realized that there was a colossal mistake in miscalculation on the maps from Earth," explained Dr. Stryfe. He shoved everything on Duo's desk on the floor and he spread out his map. "We are in the same galaxy!" As he moved his finger from point to point, explaining his theory, Duo could only get one thing out of it. They no longer needed the wormhole to travel back to Earth!

"It isn't a short jaunt," said Virineia, "especially with the technology of the craft of Calabria. But once we are able to purchase ships from Earth with the travel capabilities of the ship Ivan arrived on, the trip would only take a couple of weeks."

"You see," said Ivan, "Our maps were incomplete in this part of space and so the cartographers made educated guesses that happened to be way off the mark. Virineia and I discovered it by chance."

Nothing was by chance, thought Duo. The gods had sent him a sign. "How long would it take for us to reach L12?" he asked. He tried not to allow his hopes to rise.

"I would estimate three months," Stryfe answered him. "Gramps has already been working on synthesizing his fuel and drawing up plans to refit a Calabrian ship to use the hyper speed drive."

Three months would only seem like days when Duo knew that at the end of that time he would see Trynity. He put his trust in the gods for that.


	40. A pleasant surprise

**__**

Cinq Kingdom Colony L12

"I don't believe it! This can't be happening!"

Heero gently pushed his seemingly petrified wife out of the way to throw his arms around Duo Maxwell. He murmured in his ear, "Just ditto what she said."

Relena seemed to snap out of her shocked state enough to hurry to her nephew. "Zieben, your parents are worried sick about you!"

The young man shrugged. "I had a good time! I'm ready to go back to Calabria any day! Hey, you know what? Benton hitched up with a Calabrian woman. I don't think he's ever coming back! You got anything to eat around here that doesn't have bugs in it? Even if it does, I guess I'd eat it anyway." He pushed past his aunt. "Chaz, you know of any good spots to go out tonight? I haven't had a beer since I left!"

Relena was frowning, but she saved whatever she was going to say when she decided instead to hug and kiss both Quynn and Stryfe. "I really can't believe this is actually happening, that you have actually returned and without using the wormhole! Trynity is going to be so happy!"

"Mom is alive!" Stryfe and Quynn hugged with joyous relief. Duo had never doubted it but he found himself receiving hugs from his son and daughter as well as a clap on the shoulder by their grandfather.

"I hope mom didn't give up hope of seeing us again," said Quynn with a laugh as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Is she around?"

Relena sighed. "I'm sorry, but she's not on L12."

"Not on L12?" After spending so much time already getting here, Duo was a bit disheartened to realize that he would have to wait even longer to see her. "Is she back on Mars Colony?" A few days more wouldn't be so difficult to bear.

"Sorry, but she didn't return to Mars Colony." Relena was clearly reluctant to answer him.

"So what has that silly girl gone and done now?" asked Dr. Stryfe as he barged his way past them to sit down on the couch.

Relena glared at him, then turned around to look at Lady Virineia who had been standing by quietly. "I can't believe you have returned for a visit! Trey let you leave?"

The older woman took her hands in welcome and kissed her cheeks. "No, my dear, he really doesn't have much of a say in what I do. And I choose to go where my husband takes me."

Relena looked with surprise from her to Ivan Stryfe who was wriggling his shaggy brows. Duo shrugged when she turned her stare back to him as if asking him to deny that a beautiful, intelligent woman like her could tie herself to Ivan Stryfe.

"Come in and sit down," said Heero with a chuckle. "I am sorry I didn't come to the docking bay to meet your ship. I wasn't aware so many dignitaries were aboard, not the least of which is my nephew, the heir to the Cinq Kingdom."

"Zieben didn't want a big deal made out of his return home," said Quynn. 

The young prince who was the topic of their discussion was already heading for the door with Chaz. "Hey, Stryfe are you coming with us?"

"What about me?" demanded Quynn with her hands on her hips.

"No girls allowed."

Stryfe seemed to be torn, but Duo said, "Go ahead. If there were anything to worry about concerning your mother, we would have heard by now. Just enjoy yourself and don't get into trouble."

When they were gone, Duo got the answers to his question about Trynity once he had explained everything that happened on Calabria. Relena and Heero were able to fill in the gaps of his story, especially what had become of Trynity. After the entity known as Camrin had released its hold on Quatre, Quatre returned to Trynity, and seeing that she was still alive, made his escape from Calabria with her. Had he not done so, Trynity might be dead because she had needed life support for six months until her body recovered from her attempt to heal Duo. She had sacrificed her own life to save him, and if it hadn't been for Quatre, she would be dead. 

When Duo explained this to Heero, he nodded. "Quatre wasn't very forthcoming with details when he returned. I sent him to L11 under arrest until I could figure out what to do with him. Trynity's story seemed a little bizarre, but knowing what I do about Guerani people and Calabria, I had to believe it. I can't punish him any further and still have a good conscience. Quatre will never be the same."

"Camrin robbed him of his life," said Duo with a nod. "Quatre was easier to control than the Guerani that had housed his essence for centuries." He looked at Relena who had been sitting quietly listening. "So where is Trynity if she is not here or on Mars Colony?"

"Trynity has been on Earth for about six months."

"What the hell is she doing there?" demanded Dr. Stryfe with annoyance. Obviously he didn't want to get on a spaceship again either.

Virineia gently slapped his arm in admonishment.

Heero smiled, then looked at Duo. "I think she just wanted to be busy, and for some reason she wouldn't even consider returning to Mars Colony."

"She didn't even mention it," added Relena with a sniff. "Good riddance, I say. That place was almost the death of her."

"So what is she doing?" asked Duo. He could imagine her working in a big hospital with the latest technology. He hoped she wasn't trying to use healing powers.

"She is teaching at the Academy," Relena announced.

"Teaching!" burst out Dr. Stryfe.

"At the Academy?" Duo couldn't help the choking laughter.

Heero also laughed. "From her messages she seems to be enjoying the work."

"I'd love to see it," commented her father with a snort. "She doesn't have the patience a teacher needs."

"How long does it take to get back to Earth from here," Duo asked, ignoring the chuckling old man who was muttering under his breath. 

"A couple of weeks," said Relena. "We can be ready to leave tomorrow!"

Duo wasn't looking forward to spending another two weeks in space, but at least he knew Trynity would be at the end of this journey.

"We?" Heero raised his brow.

She frowned at him. "You don't think I am going to be here when Trynity finds out Duo isn't dead?" Relena looked at Duo. "You are going to marry her, aren't you?"

"They are all ready married," Quynn told her.

"What?! And I was not invited to the wedding?" Relena was outraged.

"I wasn't invited either," Dr. Stryfe told her. "But I got a damn good description of it. Her gown was some revealing negligee and the guests were an angry mob."

Heero chuckled. "That sounds like a wedding Relena could have planned." His wife smacked him on the arm.

Duo laughed. "I wouldn't dream of holding Trynity to our Calabrian marriage. I don't think she ever thought of herself as my wife anyway."

Relena took Heero's hand. "We've never had a formal ceremony, but I don't consider myself anything but his wife."

"I'd like it done right, the way she'd like it," Duo told her. "But Trynity and I never really discussed any kind of wedding. I suppose we both assumed we would head off to a justice of the peace when the time was right." Duo knew from pictures he had seen at her home that her wedding to Lars had been small, but they did have a ceremony.

"I know exactly what she would like!" exclaimed Relena with excitement. 

"Are you sure you aren't just thinking about what _you_ would like?" asked Heero skeptically. "Somehow I can't see you and Trynity sitting around talking about the weddings that never were."

"Me and Mom have talked about it," spoke up Quynn. "She told me what she would like for my wedding some day, and I got the impression that she was actually describing what she would have liked."

"Exactly! And I am going to plan the wedding on our way to Earth." She suddenly jumped up from her seat. "Oh my! Do you know what is taking place around the time we arrive on Earth?"

"I can't imagine," said Heero.

Duo glanced at the date on a wall calendar, then said "The Stardust Ball."

"Damn right!" Relena was brimming with excitement. "This is perfect!"

Dr. Stryfe scratched his head. "How did you know that?" he asked Duo.

Duo smiled at the old man. "I'm not about to forget the exact date when I realized I was in love with her."

"How romantic!" Quynn was smiling dreamily. "Did mom feel the same that night?"

"Before or after she strafed the dance hall with energy blasts?" asked Heero with a snort.

Quynn frowned. "I was hoping for a little romantic tale about my parents. Did you have to ruin it?"

"It might have been romantic if Duo hadn't screwed it up," said Relena.

"I screwed it up?" Duo couldn't believe he was getting the blame for something that was almost completely her fault.

"Of course! You should have simply asked her to the dance without waiting for that stupid ritual."

Duo looked at Heero. "The winner gets to pop her good."

They did rock, paper, scissors. When Heero lost, he shrugged, and Relena looked at Duo and fearing he would carry out his threat, she dashed away, but she paused before leaving the room and said, "Leave everything to me! Quynn, come and help me make some plans. We are going to have to be well-organized to pull this off!"

Quynn raised a brow. "Well, I suppose since it is for a good cause I can sacrifice myself to the goddess of special event destruction."

When she had gone, Dr. Stryfe said, "I think you had better inform Trynity of what is happening. She doesn't take surprises very well."

Heero led Duo to the communicator. "I know she'll be more than happy to hear that you are alive."

There was no answer to his communication, so he left a message. He was disappointed not to be able to contact her, but he was sure she would get back to him. But when they left on the transport a few days later, she still hadn't contacted him despite the many messages he had sent. Relena told him not to worry about it, that the array needed some repairs, but she was sure Trynity would receive his messages. 

Duo was afraid they were going to show up unannounced.

**__**

Royal Academy, Cinq Kingdom

"I can't believe the communications array is down! My son is on L10 and I haven't heard from him in weeks!"

Trynity took her eyes from her cup of coffee to glance at the whining art teacher. In the last few weeks she had heard a lot of angry grumbling because the space collectors used to receive and send messages to deep space were now out of commission. She was glad they hadn't found out that a training mission from Seaside Lab had caused the destruction of the collectors, and that she had been piloting one of the gundams that was out in space that day. Trynity had already smoothed the ruffled feathers of the king by pointing out that the space collectors were old and needed replacing anyway, that the young pilot, Dalton Riggs, had actually done them a favor by disposing of them so efficiently. The technicians would just have to work a little faster to construct the new ones, and soon enough communications would be improved. 

"You don't seem to be bothered."

Trynity looked up to see Agnes Drivel staring at her from over the rim of her wire glasses.

"When are you going to retire?" asked Trynity with annoyance before taking a sip of her coffee.

Mrs. Drivel snorted and drank from her cup of coffee that Trynity was sure she had spiked with whiskey if she could judge the fumes rising from the steaming liquid. "What do you care? I'm not too old to teach. I have a very good memory, young woman, and I remember that you never received a passing grade in my class. Not a single one."

Trynity shrugged. "My son and daughter received decent enough grades."

"Only because they had some of their father's talent for telling a story." Mrs. Drivel finished her coffee as the door to the teacher's lounge opened and another teacher walked in. "Now there is a specimen. You should run some experiments on him in your Biology class, Dr. Nelson. I'm quite sure he would gladly volunteer to be your lab rat."

Trynity glanced at the man in question. He was the new gym teacher, the other having suffered a fatal heart attack while demonstrating a golf swing. The club had flown out of his hands and struck Mr. Himmler, the headmaster. He hadn't been the same since that day. The new gym teacher, Mitch Weldon, was a good-looking man, about her own age, a little taller than her, blond hair, brown eyes and a deep tan. But Trynity wasn't attracted to him, not even remotely, possibly because he couldn't find two intelligent thoughts in his head to rub together. Unfortunately he was persistent in his pursuit of her, and she was forced now to smile politely and thank him as he refreshed her cup of coffee and slid onto the chair next to her.

"You haven't given me an answer yet," he said.

"I could use a little more coffee," said Mrs. Drivel as she pushed her cup toward him.

He ignored her. "You don't have a date for the Stardust Ball, Dr. Nelson, and neither do I. Seems like there's an obvious solution to both our problems."

Trynity didn't think there was a problem. Although she was required to chaperone the event, she had plans to call in sick that night. She didn't want the bittersweet memories that the Stardust Ball would stir up.

"You don't want to take _her_." Mrs. Drivel grabbed the coffeepot from him and poured her own coffee, then took out a flask and poured a liberal amount of whatever it contained in her cup. Although the fumes almost made Trynity gag, she was tempted to ask for a little for her own cup. "Can't stomach black coffee," Mrs. Drivel told her with a wink. "I have to add a little of my own special recipe to spice it up."

Mitch glared at her for a moment, then looked back at Trynity. "Well?"

"I wasn't planning to go," she told him. 

"Good!" barked Mrs. Drivel, "Because I am chaperoning this year and I don't really want to see it fall to pieces. Isn't it bad enough you are in charge of those rascals from the Lab? What lunatic arranged that?"

Mitch grabbed the cup from Mrs. Drivel's hand. "I think you've had enough. How are you planning to teach your classes in this condition?"

Mrs. Drivel stood. "I can teach better loaded than you can on your best day, Mr. Weldon, thank you very much." She walked out with a slight stumble at the door.

Trynity smiled to herself. Mrs. Drivel had probably been taking a nip or two back in the days when she had been her student almost twenty years ago.

"Is that your final answer?" demanded Mitch with annoyance.

She was irked to still be bothered by his presence. "I thought I made myself clear. And since I have your attention, Mr. Weldon, I would appreciate that you cease calling my home. I actually bring work home from school and I don't have time to be continually hanging up on you."

He stood. "If you change your mind, you can give me a call. I'll leave my dance card open for you."

The man didn't understand the meaning of the word 'no." Finishing her coffee, she headed to her own classroom. She could hear the chaos inside before she opened the door, but once she turned the handle, it stopped completely and silence greeted her. She fought the urge to laugh as she imagined her students scrambling for their seats and picking up anything they had thrown at each other. At least she had trained them not to bug the hell out of her this early in the morning. No one would dare say a word unless she gave permission to speak.

When she slammed her briefcase on the front desk and snapped it open, and she heard a whimper. Trynity didn't bother to look up because she knew it was from that moronic girl who was the head of the squash team cheerleadering squad. Cindy Loo was her name. Or was that the name of the little girl in the Dr. Seuss story? Trynity shrugged. What difference did it make?

A movement caught the corner of her eye and she looked up to see Dalton Riggs raising his hand. He was an eyesore with his loud print psychedelic shirt, but when she had made a derogatory comment at the Lab over breakfast, he seemed quite proud to wear it.

"I will assume that you are not trying to wave away any flies."

"Are we having that test today on the different body systems?"

She raised a brow. "I believe we had that test last week, Mr. Dalton." A few students dared to giggle, and Trynity made it a point to remember which ones so that she could glare at them when they handed in their tests. Her only amusement in this lousy school was in intimidating the students. She certainly understood Mrs. Drivel a lot better now.

He lowered his hand and reached for his book.

When he had opened it, Trynity announced, "Close your books and take out something to write with."

Dalton raised his hand again. "I don't have anything. Can I borrow…."

Trynity opened up her desk drawer and pulled out an enormous syringe. "This is all I have to lend you. I'm sure it will hold enough of your blood to write your answers to this test."

Slowly lowering his hand, the young pilot in training swallowed nervously as he stared at the syringe that had a needle two inches long. Fortunately for him, Cindy Loo offered him a pencil. Trynity almost smiled as she returned the syringe to the desk drawer. 

"Ms. Loo!"

The girl shot to her feet and squeaked, "Yes, Dr. Nelson!?"

Trynity pulled out the small stack of copied papers. "Would you be so kind as to hand out this test to your classmates."

Cindy approached her warily, almost side-stepping as if prepared to make a run for it. She took the papers, but she was shaking so badly that she dropped them on the floor. As Trynity folded her arms over her chest, Cindy sniffled and hurriedly tried to collect them. Ignoring the whispered warnings of his friends, Dalton jumped to her rescue and helped her. In the process, they bumped heads.

"That's the closest either of you have been to having a full brain," commented Trynity.

Dalton grinned stupidly at Cindy Loo, then took his seat again. Cindy Loo stood with a dazed expression on her face and Trynity had the pleasant memory of feeling the same when she was in the presence of Duo Maxwell. When she had been married to Lars, that kind of memory was very painful, but now she had a warm feeling inside.

"Are you all right, Dr. Nelson?" asked Cindy Loo. She was standing in front of her with what remained of the tests she had passed to the other students. "You look a little flushed."

Trynity snatched the papers from the girl so fast that she squealed, and she scurried back to her seat sucking on a paper cut. The students stared at her, waiting for her instruction to begin, but Trynity waited a few moments, allowing an uncomfortable silence to stretch until she saw one student squirm in his seat. 

"You may begin your test. After you have labeled every bone in the human body, place your test face down on my desk." Even before she took her seat where she planned on staring at each student in turn, Dalton was at her desk and he placed the test face up. He had only written his name. She wasn't too surprised. "I think you should see me after class."

Shoulders slumping, he shuffled back to his seat and laid his head on his desk. Cindy Loo kept looking at him and if he still had his paper, Trynity might accuse her of cheating. Then again, Cindy Loo didn't really have to cheat to get good grades. Trynity felt the urge to smile with empathy about the budding romance, but she crushed it and contented herself with glaring at one of the other pilots in training who was spending far too much time looking at her fingernails. Did she actually think that Trynity didn't know the girl had spent the entirety of the previous evening putting answers on her nails with a very fine point indelible marker?

The period seemed to drag on forever before the bell finally rang and the students left their tests behind. No one had dared to turn it in early except Dalton because they knew she would likely assign work to keep them busy. 

Dalton now stopped at her desk. "Sorry, doc," he mumbled without looking at her face. "I didn't have time to study."

"I know," she said as she straightened the papers and slipped them in her briefcase to be forgotten for a few weeks. No student would dare to ask for them back before she would be ready to return them. She looked at Dalton. "Sam told me you were in the hangar last night pestering him with questions about the gundam."

"Sam doesn't like me."

"Sam doesn't like anyone." She snapped the briefcase shut, making him jump. "I will give you the test this evening. Spend some time studying. You may not actually have a reason to know all the bones in your body, but this is an excellent exercise in memorization."

"Thanks, doc."

"I hate it when you call me 'doc'."

Dalton paused at the door and grinned at her. "I know, 'doc'."

The following class filed in, and so her day continued with one boring test administration after another. So her night would be spent correcting tests if she actually felt like doing it. Trynity had already seen the movies showing at the cinema complex, and the play production at the Royal Theatre had not interested her. The six pilots in training at Seaside Lab had no missions scheduled because of the upcoming Stardust Ball, so Trynity was thoroughly bored. Even a call from Relena might break the tedium, but she and Dalton had effectively cut off that communication link. Perhaps Trynity shouldn't have positioned her mobile suit in front of the communication array collectors. She didn't actually think Dalton would fire at her. Then again, Trynity didn't actually care if she got messages from Relena or not. Her friend meant well, but she was smothering her with her concern. She needed some time to herself.

When she left the school in the afternoon, she was on her way to her car when she almost tripped over the headmaster, Mr. Himmler, who was crawling around in the parking lot on all fours. Trynity felt sorry for the old man and helped him up.

His glasses were askew as he looked at her squinting. "Ah, Dr. Stryfe, there you are."

"Dr. Nelson," she corrected him. The headmaster would be retiring in a few weeks at the end of the school year. His assistant was doing most of the work now so all Himmler had to do was to show up until the end so that he could receive his pension. Trynity knew that Noin, who was in charge of the educational system, had offered early retirement, but the crusty old man wouldn't hear of it.

"I was looking for you."

She raised a brow. "Usually I don't hide under the cars."

His eyes crossed as he looked at her. She bit her lip to keep from laughing as he stared at her. Then he blurted out, "Miss Stryfe, I hope you are aware that your improper behavior with Mr. Maxwell will be duly noted in your file."

"I'll make every attempt to behave properly in the future," she said meekly although she was having a difficult time containing her laughter.

"You will do that! Yes you will!" He started to walk away, then he paused, scratched his head and stumbled back to her. "I hope you intend to punish your son thoroughly."

"Has he been behaving improperly also?" Trynity raised her brows. Poor old Himmler didn't have a clue when and where he was.

"Smoking pot!"

Trynity remembered receiving some type of communication from Himmler three years ago about that incident. Lars had handled the particulars. "I assure you it won't happen again."

Himmler stared at her for a couple more seconds, then he said, "Heard something about Calabria today. Were you there, Dr. Stryfe? I think it was something about the Calabrian ambassador."

She nodded, but before he could say anything more, one of his assistants found them. He apologized profusely, then led the muttering old man away. Trynity was still smiling about the incident when she pulled up to Seaside lab in her sports car. As she stepped out, the pilots minus Dalton spilled out the door.

"Hey, can we borrow your car to go into town and get our Stardust rags?"

She raised a brow. "Do any of you actually have a drivers' license?"

They looked at each other. Trynity shrugged and tossed the keys to the girl whose fingernails were now a bright pink to cover the various words she couldn't remember for the test. What was her name? Did it matter? "Don't get into any trouble, Suzy Q."

"My name is…" she started, but seeing the keys in her hands, she didn't seem to care to correct Trynity. As she went into the house, Trynity heard them arguing about which radio station to listen to and whether they would drive with the top down.

Before going to her own room to change, Trynity glanced in the recreation room to see that Dalton was on the couch, the biology book covering his face as he snored. She shrugged then changed and went down the beach where she enjoyed a swim in the ocean. As she was toweling off, she noticed a car driving toward the Lab, then she saw Mitch Weldon get out. The man didn't give up!

Unfortunately he had spied her on the beach so she couldn't make a run for it to the hangar. She slipped a sundress on over her swimsuit and waited for him. He was dressed in a suit and tie, but he had taken off his jacket by the time he reached her.

"To what do I owe this honor?" she asked him.

He had a stupid grin on his face. "I thought I would surprise you and take you out to dinner."

"I have already made other plans." She picked up her towel.

"I know for a fact that you don't have any work with the pilots tonight and tomorrow there is no school. So tonight is a perfect night for dinner and dancing."

"I don't like…"

"I have already heard that you dance wonderfully. There is an elegant restaurant…"

She sighed. "What will it take to get you off my back?"

"Just give me a chance, Trynity." There was a hopeful look in his puppy-dog-brown eyes.

"I'm not interested in a relationship," she told him.

"Dinner and dancing," he said with a shrug. "We'll see what comes of it."

Nothing, she thought, but she decided to prove it to him. He waited for her while she showered and changed. Before leaving, she checked on Dalton. He was still happily snoring, so she left him a note informing him that he could take the test when she returned. On their way to the restaurant, they passed the car returning to the lab. The car containing the group of teenagers was being driven too fast, two of the young people holding rolls of toilet paper out to trail after them.

"Was that your car?" asked Mitch, doing a double take and looking through the rearview mirror.

Trynity shrugged. "I think it just looked like mine." She didn't really think the kids were going to get into trouble. They piloted gundams in space! Then again, there wasn't much to run into in space. While Mitch was concentrating on the road she sent an e-mail message to the car phone from her own phone. She noted that it had been received, so she knew the car would be neatly parked in the garage, scrubbed and shining by the time she got home.

The restaurant was rather quiet due to some important occasion up at the royal palace. Many of the Cinq Kingdom nobility that normally frequented this restaurant were dining with the Peacecraft family. Beyond grumbling about not being asked to cater the affair, the maitre'd did not discuss what was going on at the palace. Trynity wasn't interested in what the royalty did anyway even thought she was a close friend to the king's sister. They just weren't part of her social circle.

Though out the evening, Mitch was a perfect gentleman, and Trynity did note other women looking at him with interest. Trynity didn't blame her lingering feelings for Duo Maxwell. Mitch wasn't her type, but his performance through the evening made her realize she was silly to keep putting him off. She had actually enjoyed the evening out, and while his conversation was somewhat inane, he hadn't offended her. So when he returned her to her home, she agreed to attend the ball with him. Mitch was so happy that he whooped with glee as he drove off the happiest man on the planet.

Her car was in the garage in mint condition, no sign of tissue paper. Trynity expected the pilots to be in bed already because it was well after midnight, but she could hear a lot of noise from the recreation room. She figured that perhaps they were keeping Dalton company before his test, so she prepared to give them a stern reprimand for staying up passed the agreed upon curfew. 

Grabbing the test to give to Dalton, she marched to the recreation room. The surprising sight that greeted her sent a wonderful feeling flowing through her straight to her toes.

"Quynn!"

"Mom!" Her daughter had been sitting on a stool with a group of admiring young men and women listening to whatever words of wisdom she had to impart, but she leapt off immediately and hurried across the room. She threw her arms around her and hugged her close.

Trynity couldn't stop the tears of happiness that spilled down her cheeks. "I can't believe this is happening!"

Quynn put her hands on her shoulders and stepped back so that she could look at her. "We sent you a lot of messages, mom, to tell you that we had returned, but we didn't realize until we arrived on Earth that the array was broken." She looked over her shoulder at Dalton. "I guess I know why."

Trynity remembered the test. She too looked at Dalton. "Are you ready?"

"Not really."

She tossed the test on the table, then lead Quynn out of the recreation room. Trynity wanted her daughter to herself. "Is Stryfe here?"

"No, he got a little wasted up at the palace tonight so he's spending the night there. Gramps said he'd come and see you tomorrow."

That cleared the mystery of what was happening at the palace! Zieben had most likely returned. Trynity could hardly believe that her family would be with her again. "I realize that the array is broken," she said as she closed the door to her bedroom, "but I would have heard about the wormhole opening up."

"It didn't." Quynn plopped on the edge of Trynity's bed. "Gramps and Lady Virineia put their heads together and came up with a route back. It only took us three months."

Three months! All these years Duo had been only three months away from her! Quynn gave her sketchy details about the months they had been separated, explaining what had happened on the mountain as best as she could understand. Although she should have been surprised that Camridaeus would do the right thing, she wasn't. Trynity didn't want to admit that he some good left in him. Quynn told her that Stryfe was planning to return to Calabria when he finished his duty for the Cinq Kingdom because he had become interested in the work the scribes did for the emperor. His aptitude for language and his excellent memory made him a natural for the coveted position in the emperor's household. Trynity would have to wait until tomorrow to see her father and his new wife. She couldn't imagine why Lady Virineia would marry Ivan Stryfe.

"I guess she always had a thing for gramps," Quynn explained to her. "One of the reasons she left to study the wormhole in the first place was that seeing him so happy with another woman was painful for her. They're pretty happy together, and she keeps him from getting on our nerves."

They had spoken about everyone except one person. Trynity wondered if there was a great funeral for Duo, but she didn't ask Quynn. Thinking about his death made her heart ache. 

In a painful moment of silence when Trynity was sure they were both thinking about Duo, she noticed a large, flat box on the bed. "You brought me a gift?"

"Well, actually me and Relena, and Relena is back at the palace, so plan on spending some quality shopping time with her tomorrow." Quynn handed her the box. "We knew the Stardust Ball was coming up…"

"Tomorrow night, in fact." Trynity set the box on the bed and untied the strings. "I actually have a date!"

"A date!" Quynn jumped up from the bed. "No! No you can't! Mom, you have to cancel!"

Tossing off the top of the box, Trynity moved aside the tissue to find a garment of very fine silk and satin that she determined was a ball gown. Glancing at the box, she noted that it had come from an exclusive designer that Relena often used. "I am not going to cancel after all the trouble he went through to get me to agree." She raised a brow at Quynn. "It's not as if I am going to marry the guy." Then she lifted the gown from the box. White and elegant, it looked very much like the gown she had worn to the ball so many years ago except that this one had embroidered thistles on the edges. In fact, it looked more like a wedding gown than a ball gown.

Frowning, Trynity reached into the box expecting to find a matching veil, but Quynn snatched the box away. "Sorry you don't like it," sniffed Quynn. "Relena told me all about the first ball, and so we thought…"

Trynity didn't want to remind her that the most import part of that occasion was missing. "It is lovely. I will treasure it as I wear it."

"So, are you going to cancel that date?" asked Quynn hopefully.

"Not a chance." Trynity held the gown up to her. "I just hope this doesn't give Mitch any ideas."

"So his name is Mitch. What's his last name?"

Trynity looked at Quynn. "I'm not going to let you screw this up by hunting the guy down and threatening him." She set the gown aside then went to hug Quynn again. "I wish I had known you were coming!"

Quynn frowned at her. "We called the school and told Himmler to let you know we had arrived and that we were expecting to see you at the banquet welcoming Zieben back home. Apparently he didn't give you the message."

So that was why the old coot was looking for her! He had mentioned Calabria, but Trynity hadn't given it another thought. "Himmler hasn't been himself lately." She quickly explained what had happened to the headmaster, then added, "I just hope he doesn't put that letter of admonishment in my employment file."

"Well, it's late, mom. You need to get some sleep because tomorrow night is going to be a big night." Quynn paused at the door and winked at her.

After she left, Trynity held the dress up to herself again. She hadn't planned on attending the ball so this was all she had to wear. Besides, she didn't want to hurt Quynn's feelings and she certainly didn't want Relena nagging her all evening if she didn't. 

And what did Quynn mean by that last comment?


	41. Fantasy Wedding

**** __

Cinq Kingdom, Seaside Lab

When Trynity went down to breakfast the following morning, she found Dalton's test lying on the table. She was quite sure he hadn't cheated because he did get a few wrong but not enough to keep him from passing. Hearing voices through the open window, she looked out over the beach to see that Quynn was playing volleyball on the pilots in training. Trynity noticed that Stryfe had arrived, so she headed down to the beach where she greeted her son with a hug, a kiss and a strong cup of coffee.

After hugging her, he resumed his position on the lounge chair wearing, dark glasses hiding his eyes. "Thanks, mom."

"I suppose you overdid it last night after being on alcohol free Calabria for so long." Trynity was just delighted to see Stryfe. He looked so much like Duo, especially since he had let his hair grow longer.

Stryfe lowered the glasses to look at her. "How have you been, mom? I've heard a lot from these guys. You really teach at the Academy? How long were you planning to do that?"

"Humph! She's been doing it long enough to destroy my good name."

Trynity turned around to see her father approaching carrying a couple of lounging chairs. Behind him was Lady Virineia wearing a bathing suit and carrying towels. She certainly didn't look like anyone's grandmother! Trynity went to her and hugged her. "I hear that congratulations are in order."

Virineia smiled. "I was afraid you wouldn't approve."

"Only for your sake," she said in a low voice. She was happy the couple had been able to find love again after losing those so dear to them in the past.

"I heard that," growled her father as he set up the chairs. "Get over here and give your old father a hug and a kiss. I thought you were dead!"

Trynity hurried to him and hugged him, and as he held her tightly for a moment, she could feel his deep emotion. When he released her, he quickly turned away but not before she saw him wipe tears from his eyes. "Don't worry about your job at the academy, father, because I agreed to take it only until you returned."

"Well, I am back. Virineia and I are going to be teaching together until the end of my contract."

"I don't remember volunteering to teach," commented Virineia as she sat beside him.

"You have plenty of knowledge and experience, and besides now that there is a clear route to Calabria, the young people are going to need to learn about a completely foreign culture."

"Do I have to live here?" she asked with a glance toward the huge laboratory complex.

Trynity smiled at her. "You will get used to it."

They spent the remainder of the morning and some of the afternoon talking about what had happened on Calabria. Trynity was glad that Dagan and Shamara were safe and happy after their ordeal on the mountain. That Trey was a grandfather made her laugh until Virineia pointed out that only an imperial guard stood between her and grandchildren. That made Trynity look twice at Quynn but Stryfe assured her she didn't have anything to worry about because Quynn wasn't that reckless with Prince Amyr. Virineia echoed his reassurance. Trynity wasn't even forty years old! She wasn't ready to be a grandmother.

After lunch, Trynity decided to go into town to shop for shoes and a handbag for her gown. Quynn joined her and during the excursion, they ran into Relena although Trynity was quite sure that it wasn't by chance. Before Relena could even greet Trynity, Quynn grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Her daughter whispered something quickly to her, and Trynity guessed that she warned Relena not to talk about Duo because his name did not come up all afternoon. When she had finished shopping, they were headed back to her car but Relena insisted they visit one last boutique. Seeing that it was a lingerie shop, Trynity didn't want to go in but Quynn thought it might be fun. Trynity was quite shocked by the apparel Relena and her daughter thought she should buy. Just what did they think she was planning to do that night? Both of them were disappointed that she bought something rather modest.

"Where is your sense of adventure?" asked Relena with annoyance as she picked up a clinging, revealing negligee. "I'm buying this for you."

Trynity frowned as she took her purchase from the saleswoman. "When am I going to wear something like that? Did I forget to mention that Mitch Weldon isn't my type?"

"We know," said Quynn as she put some sheer white stockings and a frilly garter on the counter. "But you never know when you might need such things. Just because you're wearing it doesn't mean he has to see it!"

Trynity looked again at the garment Relena was buying. "There isn't much to see."

Relena smiled at her. "Trust me. It might come in handy."

Later when she was dressing, Quynn insisted she wear her new things. "It's a special night," she said with a cryptic smile. If she thought Quynn would give her a straight answer she would demand to know what she meant by that.

When she was finished dressing and after Quynn had arranged her hair attractively for once, she reached out to the dresser top to find her necklace which she had placed there when she had gone to take a shower, but it was gone. She was still looking for it when Quynn informed her that Mitch Weldon had arrived.

"You haven't seen my necklace?" Trynity didn't feel dressed without the little golden chain with dangling scythe. She felt more than a little distressed that she had misplaced it.

Quynn shook her head and helped her look for a few minutes then said, "I'm sure it will turn up."

Although she was very bothered by its disappearance, she knew Quynn was right. After all that she had been through, she still had the necklace. But she would have liked to wear it this night.

Trynity felt a little silly greeting Mitch. He seemed a little taken aback by her gown, but he insisted that she was beautiful and offered her a bouquet of roses. After her experience on L12, she wasn't as enthusiastic as another woman might be receiving the beautiful flowers. Quynn had come down in the elevator just as they were headed to the door and she hurried to catch them.

"Good! You haven't left. Stryfe promised to take me, but he ditched me." She smiled prettily at Mitch. "You wouldn't mind me tagging along, would you?"

Trynity could almost read his mind. He was thinking that three was a crowd. She didn't really know what game Quynn was playing, but she was somewhat relieved that her daughter had maneuvered herself into the car with them. Trynity had an unpleasant flashback of Curt Duran pawing her at the conclusion of their date on L12.

But Mitch took the change in plans like a gentleman. "I would be delighted to give you a ride, Miss Nelson."

She expected an uneasy silence in the car, but Mitch chatted comfortably with Quynn and Trynity gave him credit for trying to win over her daughter. Quynn wasn't rude to him, so Trynity reminded herself to thank her later. When they reached the Conservatory where the Stardust Ball was held, there was a traffic jam and no available parking nearby, so Mitch left them at the front where they would wait for him as he parked the car.

After he had driven off, Quynn didn't waste any time before voicing her opinion. "He's a nice enough guy, mom, but not your type."

Trynity rolled her eyes. "I told you and Relena that all day. He's just an escort. I have no intention of encouraging him."

Another car drove up and Mrs. Drivel climbed out of the back and joined Trynity and Quynn. "Well, there goes the evening!" Quynn said at the same time as the literature teacher.

Mrs. Drivel pulled a flask from her handbag and took a long drink, then passed it to Trynity. "You look like you could use a little fortification."

Trynity shrugged. "I guess I could."

"Mom!" But before Quynn could grab it away, Trynity took a long drink, then she had a fit of coughing from the strong liquor Mrs. Drivel kept in her flask. She didn't stop until Mrs. Drivel had pounded her on the back a few times.

The older woman snorted with laughter as she tucked away the flask, no doubt to be used later. "You are a lightweight, Dr. Nelson!"

"What is that?" asked Trynity hoarsely when she could breathe again.

"A little something I whipped up in my basement. You're not the only one around here who knows a thing or two about chemistry." Mrs. Drivel swaggered away and Trynity heard her shout. "Good God! Relena Peacecraft is here too? This party is doomed!"

Trynity fanned herself with her hand. The alcohol content in the drink was definitely high. "My goodness, that was strong brew." She probably shouldn't have drunk so much, but it did take the edge off her nerves.

Quynn turned her head as if she were looking for someone, then she said, "You know what, mom? Maybe you should go for a little air. I can wait here for Mr. Weldon."

"Not a bad idea." Trynity felt a little woozy and she thought she should do as Quynn suggested. She followed the path away from the conservatory to the gardens. No one would be able to tell that twenty years ago this place had been reduced to rubble by a gundam fight. She could see a few new trees, but there were some still standing that had not been affected by the fires, including that lovely willow tree where she had learned to dance and kiss in Duo Maxwell's arms by the light of the moon.

She went to the tree and turned to look at the moonlight shimmering on the water of the pond just as it had that night. Trynity closed her eyes, and for the first time in many months, she allowed herself the fantasy that Duo was still alive. He would come to meet her here at the pond on this very night.

"This is still the best vantage point to see Venus."

She opened her eyes and turned around. Trynity wasn't surprised to see Duo. This was her fantasy, after all. He was formally dressed in what appeared to be an elegant tuxedo although she would rather see him in his ceremonial Calabrian clothing as she had on L12. Apparently she couldn't control the elements of her fantasy.

"You have quite the smooth tongue, Mr. Maxwell."

Chuckling, he came to stand near her. "We can test that out later, Miss Stryfe."

Trynity felt warm inside and more than just a little giddy. "Why wait?" She put her hand on his chest and he felt so warm and real. This was going to be a very pleasant fantasy. "I know what I want, and I'm pretty sure I know what you want."

"You are being very naughty, Miss Stryfe." But he slipped one hand around her to rest on the small of her back and he put his other hand under her chin to tilt her face up to him. Trynity tingled all over and was thankful she had taken a little nip from Mrs. Drivel's magic brew. She would have to get a recipe if it could give her this kind of experience.

She expected Duo to kiss her, but he just leaned very close to her to say, "I don't went to mess up your dress."

"We don't have to go in," she suggested as she pushed herself up on her toes to get closer to him. Why wasn't he kissing her?

"We _do_ have to go in. Relena has gone to a great deal of trouble and we aren't going to mess this up." He released her and she almost fell on her backside, but she managed to lock her weak knees. "I'll see you inside."

"Mom!" 

Trynity turned toward the sound of Quynn's voice, but she glanced back to where Duo had been standing. He was gone. "Damn!"

"Are you ready to go in?" asked Quynn as she took her arm.

"Where is Mitch?" she asked irritably.

Quynn shrugged. "He'll meet up with us inside."

Trynity suspected Quynn had done something to her date, but she was still feeling a little light-headed so she didn't have the desire to find out what. Quynn escorted her to the Conservatory, and when she entered, she was somewhat surprised to see her father standing in the entry wearing a tuxedo that looked similar in design to the one her fantasy Duo had been wearing. Then Trynity realized this was still part of her fantasy. She was delighted for it to continue!

"Mom, are you all right?" asked Quynn, her brows furrowed in concern.

"Good God, is she drunk?" demanded her father, then he chortled with laughter. "Serves Maxwell right!"

"Drunk?" Relena screeched as she came upon them. She lightly slapped Trynity's cheeks. "You aren't drunk? Please don't tell me you are drunk!"

"I'm not drunk!" insisted Trynity with annoyance although her voice sounded a bit slurred. What kind of fantasy was this?

Quynn grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face her and Trynity felt someone poking her head with hairpins. Then Quynn became fuzzy before her eyes as if a cloud had come between them. Trynity brushed at it and realized it was a veil.

"What is going on?" she asked.

"She's drunk," muttered Dr. Stryfe.

"How could you get drunk?" moaned Relena. "Quynn! How did you let her get drunk?"

"I didn't do it. That bitch Drivel gave her something."

"I plan to have more of that magic potion," commented Trynity dreamily. "I saw Duo in the garden."

"Is there time to sober her up?" asked Lady Virineia who suddenly appeared beside her husband.

"We have no idea what was in Drivel's flask," said Quynn.

"What is going on?" Trynity heard Stryfe's voice. "We're waiting."

"Your mother is drunk on Agnes Drivel's moonshine," said her father with a snort of laughter.

"I'm not drunk," insisted Trynity. What kind of moronic fantasy was this? Why was she wearing a veil? Stryfe was wearing a tuxedo too. Then she was struck by what was happening. "Am I getting married?"

"Can she walk?" asked Relena anxiously as she stood wringing her hands.

"I can walk!" Trynity straightened her back and squared her shoulders. "I'm ready!"

Relena thrust a bouquet in her hands and Trynity yelped when a thorn pricked her. Looking down she saw the fuzzy purple blooms and tears made them blur. "Thistles! They are thistles!" Trynity looked at Relena. "I have a bouquet of thistles!"

"Don't cry, mom!" Quynn took a tissue and reached under Trynity's veil to wipe her eyes. "I'm going to kick the snot out of Drivel before this night is over."

"I want her recipe before you do," murmured Trynity.

Relena pinched Trynity's cheeks. "Behave yourself, Trynity. Just say the right words at the right time. If you don't, I will personally kick your ass."

"Well put," said Dr. Stryfe as he took Trynity's hand and put it around his arm. Quynn gave her mother one last desperate glance and a hug before she disappeared into the conservatory. Trynity heard the traditional wedding processional music begin.

"Isn't this the Stardust Ball?" she asked. "And where is my date?"

"I don't know. I think Quynn sent him into the garden to look for you," commented her son. "I had better go warn my lord father what to expect."

Virineia also slipped into the Conservatory with Relena after the latter admonished Dr. Stryfe to get his daughter inside. 

"This isn't bad for a fantasy wedding," commented Trynity after they were gone. "As long as there is a groom."

Her father gave her a quick hug, then he turned her around and took a step toward the door. Trynity could see that a pathway had been cleared and at the end, Duo was waiting with Stryfe who was whispering something in his ear.

"He's not going to disappear on me this time, is he?" she heard herself ask out loud.

Her father patted her hand. "He'll always be there for you now, pumpkin. There isn't going to be any more forks in the road."

They entered the Conservatory and started down the cleared path, but halfway, her father released her. Trynity looked at him curiously, and then she turned back to see that Duo was approaching her. She met him halfway and took the hands he held out to her. They finished walking the path to the end together, and they came to a stop before an official. She hadn't prepared any fancy vows, and Trynity wasn't much good at writing. This was only a fantasy anyway, so she tried to say what was in her heart, and at the conclusion she could swear she heard Mrs. Drivel snorting with drunken, derisive laughter. She almost laughed at herself.

She expected some flowery, flowing eloquent speech from Duo. After all, this was a fantasy, and she had the full expectation of hearing about his eternal love. The speech would probably last a good fifteen minutes because Duo was good at writing.

But her fantasy Duo disappointed her. "You aren't going to remember this in the morning anyway, so I'll save it for later." He looked at the justice of the peace. "Let's get on with the vows before she passes out."

"I'm not drunk," insisted Trynity.

"Neither am I," hooted Mrs. Drivel.

"Who invited her to my fantasy wedding?" asked Trynity with annoyance. 

The justice of the peace rambled through the requisite questions and Trynity gave the correct affirmative answers, as did Duo. When the time came for him to put the ring on her finger, she expected a ridiculously expensive wedding ring. The governor of the second moon of Calabria could certainly afford it!

But he reached under her veil, and she was tearfully surprised that he was clasping the golden chain around her neck. "Where did you find it?"

"Don't be silly, Trynity," he whispered. "Quynn swiped it from you this afternoon."

She hadn't really listened to him as she touched the scythe. "I looked all over for it! I thought I had lost it forever!"

Duo looked at the justice of the peace. "You had better finish this."

"I didn't get anything for you," she heard her voice whining.

The justice of the peace pronounced them man and wife, and Duo turned back to her to raise her veil. Trynity didn't dare to allow herself to feel the joy she would have felt at her wedding to him. This was just a fantasy that would come to an end no matter how hard she tried to keep it going. Any second now, Mitch would find her dreaming under the willow tree and she would spend the remainder of the evening having her feet stepped on as they danced. Then she would return to her own lonely cold bed.

"I love you, Trynity," he said softly before touching his lips to hers.

She was dazed from his kiss until thunderous applause startled her, and Duo turned them to face the guests. The orchestra began to play, and many couples began to dance. Relena was the first to congratulate them, hugging both. "It's done and without a disaster!"

"I wouldn't call this a disaster-less wedding," remarked Heero as he shook Duo's hand. "Trynity is in la-la land."

"I happen to like la-la land," she said as she tossed her veil over her shoulder and out of her face. She laced her fingers with Duo's. "As long as he's with me."

Duo leaned down to kiss her again. "You don't have to worry about that."

"So, can we skip the rest of this lovely wedding fantasy and go right to the honeymoon part?" asked Trynity hopefully. The wedding was nice, but enough was enough.

They all laughed although Trynity was quite serious.

"We have cake to cut and many people want to congratulate you," said Relena as she tried to tug Trynity away from Duo.

Trynity held onto him. "I don't want this to end yet." She was afraid that if she allowed herself to be separated from him, Duo would disappear. She leaned back to him and whispered in his ear. "Let's get out of here."

Duo chuckled. "Not yet, Trynity."

"Damn!" she muttered. "I don't like this part. I want to skip to the sex."

"Mom, I hope I didn't hear what I just thought I heard." Stryfe kissed her cheeks.

Trynity sighed and frowned. "Sorry! But it's true."

"You're not planning to include that remark in your official Calabrian record for the emperor?" Duo asked Stryfe.

"Those are the kinds of details that emperor asked that I include," said Stryfe with a wink.

Duo chuckled. "Trey is going to enjoy your report."

Quynn joined them. "Mom, you have the whole cake-cutting business and then there is the dance and . . ."

Trynity turned away from her daughter and looked at Duo. "Tell me honestly. Do you want to be here or someplace quiet, just you and me?"

Duo sighed with exasperation as he turned to Relena. "What the hell did Drivel give her anyway?"

Relena shrugged. "I don't know, but we had better conclude this before she does something that will embarrass everyone."

Duo shoved Trynity after Relena and they all ended up around a huge cake. Relena made a sweet speech about their long journey to this day. The sight of the cake made Trynity feel queasy, but this whole cake business was a tradition and she must have wanted a traditional wedding or it wouldn't be happening in her fantasy. There were photographers snapping pictures and she noticed cameramen taping the event as they held the knife and cut the cake together. Duo was smiling as he picked up a piece of cake, and Trynity picked up another piece. So now they were expected feed each other the cake. A moronic tradition, as far as Trynity was concerned, but Relena stood by with that expectant look on her face, so Trynity knew her feelings would be hurt if they didn't follow through. Trynity idly wondered when all hell would break loose.

"There you are!"

Trynity turned her head to see Mitch Weldon.

"Damn!" exclaimed Quynn.

Mitch seemed thoroughly confused, and Trynity wondered why he was still in her fantasy and seemed to be on the verge of wrecking it.

Then she heard Mrs. Drivel's voice. "Now we're going to see the fireworks!"

Trynity looked back at Mitch. "I'm sorry, Mitch, but it appears I have taken a husband in your absence."

"But…but I thought we were on a date."

Duo looked at Trynity. "You brought a date to our wedding?"

She shrugged.

Mrs. Drivel's cackling laughter became louder. 

Mitch took a step closer. "I demand an explanation. I brought you here in good faith, Dr. Nelson, and you have ditched me without so much as a by your leave! I even brought your meddling daughter with us…"

"My God, Weldon, you are an idiot!" Mrs. Drivel was guffawing.

Trynity exchanged glances with Duo, and then they turned and together flung their pieces of cake at the old literature teacher and the beefy gym teacher. Mitch looked at his expensive suit, now splattered with cake, then at Duo and Trynity.

Mrs. Drivel was doubled over in laughter although her face was plastered with cake.

Mitch was furious. He grabbed a handful of cake.

"Oh no you don't!" cried Relena furiously as she tried to stop him, but he flung the cake and it hit Quynn.

"That's for getting me lost in the garden and letting your mother marry this man."

Quynn retaliated by digging into the cake to seize a huge chunk, which she whipped it at Mitch. Someone else grabbed cake, then someone else and soon enough the wedding cake was destroyed and there were crumbs and frosting flying everywhere. 

Duo grabbed Trynity and made her duck and soon they were crawling for an exit. "I can't believe we turned our wedding into a food fight," he grumbled.

Trynity couldn't keep from laughing. The floor was slippery, and she could hear Relena shrieking angrily at everyone who had a part of ruining the happy occasion. When they reached the door, Duo helped Trynity to her feet. They started to leave, but she heard someone call out for her.

"Hey doc!"

Trynity turned to see Dalton standing with Cindy Loo. They both held very large portions of cake. Their fine clothing was stained and there was frosting in Cindy Loo's hair. "You look very elegant this evening," she told Dalton.

"I just wanted to say congratulations," said Dalton with a mischievous grin. 

"This is the best wedding I've ever been at," laughed Cindy Loo.

Before Trynity could react, the young man and his date hurled their cake at her, hitting her full on the face. Then they high-fived each other. 

Trynity looked at Duo. He was laughing. "He's a lot like you," she remarked as she wiped wedding cake from her face. 

Duo gave the young man a thumbs up, then escorted Trynity out the door, still chuckling.

She couldn't imagine how this bizarre fantasy was going to end. "Where are we going?"

"We have the royal suite at the Hilton for a few days." A car rolled to a stop and the chauffeur hurried to open the door for them.

"So, are we going to be starting our honeymoon there?" she asked with a smile.

He shut the car door and pulled her into his arms. "We are going to start here."

This was the part of the fantasy she was waiting for!


	42. Tying the loose ends

****

Cinq Kingdom, Earth

Trynity awoke the following morning to a pounding, splitting headache. Very disoriented and aching from head to toe, she carefully opened an eye to see blinding light from a window. She was instantly cognizant of the fact she was not in her own bedroom at Seaside Lab, and with horror she couldn't remember anything after arriving at the Stardust Ball. Trynity was now shocked to realize that she was naked and lying tangled up in satin sheets. Did she sleep with Mitch Weldon? What had she done?! How could she have done something so stupid?

Trynity's heart was pounding erratically as she considered the ramifications of her actions the night before. She could never look him in the eye again! She could never look _anyone_ in the eye again! Mortified by her own irresponsible behavior, she quickly left the bed, tucking the sheet to her. For a moment she stood completely still, listening carefully for any sound from the shower, and hearing nothing, she was relieved that Mitch wasn't still there. At least she had some time to plan what she would say to him, that is, if he hadn't ditched her in this room after taking advantage of her. Looking around at the enormous, elegant suite she gave him a little credit for not taking her to a lowdown dive on the edge of town. But that left her with the unpleasant and embarrassing task of leaving this quality hotel dressed in her ball gown.

After a brief hunt, she found the garment lying on the floor. Stiff and stained, it appeared to have been smeared with cake and frosting. The tiny row of buttons on the back was completely destroyed, and she saw a few of the buttons on the floor nearby and others scattered around the room. Trynity didn't have to use her imagination to know that her gown had been torn off the night before, but she couldn't think of a logical explanation for the cake mess. Her head hurt just trying. What was she going to wear now? How was she going to get out of this predicament?

Just as she thought she was going to have to resort to calling Quynn and confessing to her stupidity, the security code at the door sounded and the lock clicked open. What was she going to say to him? How was she supposed to act after such an escapade? If she weren't wrapped in a satin sheet, she would dive out the window and make a run for it!

Trynity had to think quickly because the door was opening. Perhaps she was just being immature about this whole thing. She wasn't a young girl anymore, and she could be mature about this. Maybe she didn't have such a bad time with Mitch. As she mentally pictured the man, her stomach churned unpleasantly and she felt her face heating. There was absolutely no dignified way to escape this situation. She was just going to have to stay and bear it.

The door opened fully and a man walked in carrying a tray of food. Trynity blinked several times, not daring to believe her eyes when she saw the long braid as he turned to lock the door. When he turned to look at her, her knees became weak.

"Ah, I see you are awake," he said. "I didn't want to have to wake you because I wasn't sure what kind of morning person you are and I didn't really want to find out today."

Duo Maxwell! Duo Maxwell? Duo Maxwell?!

"You're alive?!" she blurted for lack of anything else to say. Trynity reached up to rub her eyes, then blinked at him several times more.

He gave her a half smile and placed the tray on the small table near the door. "Well, despite your attempts to do me in last night, babe, I am alive."

Trynity felt her cheeks burning. "I…I don't understand…" She spent the night with Duo? 

What happened to Mitch? 

Duo was alive?

Duo came to her and put his hands on her shoulders. They were very real, strong and warm. "You were pretty wasted last night."

"But I thought…" He didn't give her a chance to continue before he covered her mouth with his and gave her a kiss that made her knees completely buckle. He caught her up against him to keep her from sliding out of his embrace. "Are you convinced that I am alive?"

In a daze, she let him lead her to the table on the balcony overlooking the sea and he brought the tray out to her. He was dressed casually wearing jeans and a white shirt open halfway down, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He appeared quite strange to Trynity because she was so used to seeing him in his Calabrian clothing. A vague memory of him wearing a tuxedo came to mind.

He pulled the cover off the tray to reveal some pastries, fruit and coffee. Duo poured her a cup of coffee, which she wasted no time in drinking. She still wasn't sure what was going on or why her memories were so fuzzy.

Duo grinned at her. "You don't remember anything, do you?"

She shook her head. "Did I do something foolish?" Was she actually having a conversation with Duo Maxwell? Or was she dreaming?

He shrugged, but he was still smiling. "That would depend on your opinion. I rather enjoyed the evening."

"Did you have to ruin my gown? Quynn and Relena went through a lot of trouble to get it for me, according to Quynn." Trynity tossed a croissant at him.

Duo laughed and caught the pastry. After taking a bite, he said, "I was being very careful with all those little buttons because I was the one who went through a lot of trouble, not to mention expense, in getting it for you. I thought you might like to save it as a memento of the evening. You're the one who got impatient and wrecked it."

She doubted the blush would ever leave her face today. And she wished she could remember what had happened the night before. This wasn't a dream, was it? If it was, she was going to be terribly depressed when she awoke.

"Don't worry, Trynity, we'll have a repeat performance tonight."

"I should be getting back to the Lab," she said lamely. Was she crazy? She didn't want to leave!

He waved a hand. "Forget the lab. You have other responsibilities now."

"Other responsibilities?" she repeated. Trynity was feeling very confused, but she was realizing that this wasn't a dream, because she wouldn't have such awful aches and pains if it were.

"As my wife," he told her.

"Your wife?" Trynity shook her head. "Wait a minute!" She put her hands on the table and stood. "I don't know what is going on! Yesterday I thought you were dead and nobody bothered to tell me otherwise, and now today you say that I am your wife? Are you holding me to that sham of a marriage on Calabria?"

Duo sighed, snatched her arm and pulled her down onto his lap although she was very angry and disoriented. Being in this position didn't help clear her head any. "Listen, babe, I sent many messages through the array, but apparently you and your little buddy Dalton Riggs blasted it before you could get any. I didn't have a chance to talk to you because I have been stuck negotiating treaties with Miliardo Peacecraft since my arrival. I trusted Quynn to tell you, and she botched that by leaving a message with Himmler over at the school telling you to meet us at the banquet at the palace. I fully expected you to be there the night we arrived and I planned to explain everything to you then."

Trynity looked down, embarrassed to admit why. "I was on a date."

He snorted. "With that buffoon you brought as a date to the Stardust Ball? Oh, well, he did have the grace to apologize to me this morning for causing trouble at our wedding."

"Our wedding?" Trynity was becoming increasingly frustrated and upset that she couldn't remember what had happened the previous evening.

Duo smiled and pushed the hair back from her face. "Don't worry, Trynity. I have a full video accounting of the event. Trey insisted upon it, but I don't think he'll be expecting what I have to show him. Our son is also very busy writing a thorough account for the imperial archives."

"Did I do something stupid? Say anything embarrassing?" Trynity made a mental note to get back at Mrs. Drivel. She wondered if the woman had purposely sabotaged her special night.

"Let's just say that I am sure Trey will cherish the full account and be glad he wasn't able to attend." He caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "You really don't remember?"

She sighed. "You will have to save a copy of that video for us to keep. You didn't, by any chance, videotape the honeymoon too?"

"Miss Stryfe!"

Trynity put her arms around his neck and leaned into him. "I guess we don't need a videotape when we can do real life replay."

"I like the way you think, Mrs. Maxwell." He lifted her in his arms and carried her back to the bed. 

Later as she lay snuggled against him, her head resting on his shoulder, she wondered how this had come to pass. "I thought you were dead," she murmured. 

He tightened his arm around her. "You saved my life, Trynity. Apolo was certain that you had given your life to do so."

"I would have." She looked up at him. "If Quatre hadn't brought me back, I would be dead."

"Three cheers for Quatre Winner," he said wryly. 

"He deserves our pity."

"Maybe so. As for me, I was in a coma, and I might have died also if Taeron hadn't been able to get through to me. I had dreamed a wonderful life with you, Trynity, and I didn't want to leave. It won't be the same as my dream, but we have a start on that wonderful life together now."

"Someone could have told me that you were alive," she pouted aloud.

"You can blame Quynn and Relena for that. Once they realized that you didn't know, they thought our wedding would be more romantic."

"I suppose I should apologize to her," Trynity commented with another sigh.

"I tried to talk to her earlier, but she wouldn't even look at me. She's pissed at both of us." Duo scratched his head. 

Trynity looked at him. "Why is she angry at you? I probably shouldn't have trusted Agnes Drivel, but you..."

He grinned. "Trust me, Trynity. She has good reason."

She thought of the mess that had been made of her wedding gown and she decided to wait as long as possible to find out exactly what had happened at their wedding. They were married now, and that was good enough. She was going to have Duo all to herself.

"We have to get up. Miliardo was expecting me hours ago, and I think Noin has some type of tea party lined up this afternoon to honor our marriage since they weren't able to make it last night."

Trynity looked at him skeptically. "I'm going to one of those tea parties? Need I remind you how those things turn out for me?"

"Come to think of it, disaster does usually follow you." He chuckled. "Maybe Relena isn't the jinx."

"But…but this is our honeymoon!" Trynity argued. She just didn't want to get out of bed.

"We will have plenty of time for a proper honeymoon when we leave Earth."

Duo left the bed, but Trynity stretched and laid back. He glanced at her before going to the shower. "I insist that you go to the palace with me."

She made a face. "Already ordering me around like some overbearing Calabrian male."

"I am an overbearing Calabrian, Trynity. Now get up."

"I don't have any clothing," she told him. She had him there! Her gown was unwearable!

"I brought a trunk of clothing from Calabria. When she heard my plans, Larya sent an entire wardrobe suitable for a Calabrian governor's wife."

Trynity almost swore out loud. "Three cheers for Larya!"

"Come on, now. We can have a little fun in the shower before we get ready to go."

She dragged herself out of bed, but only because there was the possibility of enjoying herself in the shower. "Say, did she ever get Apolo to marry her?"

"They are married and living on the first moon, Dagmaeus. Their daughter looks a lot like Shamara, and by the time we return to Calabria, she will have given birth to their second child."

She followed him into the shower. "Is that all women do on Calabria? I suppose Arora has had another child."

"And Shamara is a mother," Duo told her. He appeared to be worried as he looked down at her. "You don't want more children?"

Duo wasn't going to be disappointed by her answer. "I want as many as I can have." She would tell him later about the babies she had lost. The doctor already told her there was no reason to believe she couldn't have more children if she wanted. And she did want more children. In fact, Trynity would be happy spending the rest of her life like Arora.

The tea party was an uncomfortable affair. Noin was a gracious hostess, but Trynity doubted the king's wife would ever get over the fact that Trynity had tried to kill her several times. The Cinq Kingdom nobility was polite, yet Trynity imagined that they whispered about her past. And there was plenty to whisper about. She was glad when Relena arrived with Quynn and Stryfe, her father and Lady Virineia. Lady Virineia was more experienced in such gatherings as the nobility of Calabria was far more ruthless. She had the Cinq Kingdom matrons eating out of her hand in minutes, but then Trynity expected no less from the mother of an emperor, the widow of Zeno the Butcher. Ivan Stryfe contented himself with enjoying the tea and cookies while pretending to be a senile old man so that he wouldn't have to socialize.

"I hate these things," Relena said to Trynity as she sat beside her on an ornate, extremely uncomfortable sofa. 

Trynity looked at her. "I was ordered to attend."

"That's what you get for marrying a Calabrian." Relena looked at the tea in her cup.

Trynity looked at her own cup. She was embarrassed and ashamed of how she had ruined Relena's best effort at giving her a happy ending and didn't know what to say to her.

Relena sighed after a moment. "I am sorry, Trynity."

Trynity looked at her. "I am the one who should be sorry."

Relena shook her head. "No, I should have told you about our plans and I shouldn't have gone along with Quynn's stupid idea of surprising you."

Trynity looked around the crowded room to find her daughter and saw that she was flirting with Relena's son, Chaz, and Prince Zieben. "She meant well."

"She's your daughter, and to make it worse, she's Duo's daughter and doubly worse, she was raised by that bone-headed Lars Nelson." Relena sighed. "I pity the girl."

Laughing, Trynity set aside her cup and hugged Relena. "Although I don't remember my wedding, I want to thank you anyway. I'm sure it would have been beautiful."

Relena hugged her back. "It may have been without you stumbling around in confusion." She laughed. "I don't know why I thought the two of you could handle that cake-cutting ceremony."

Now Trynity understood the mystery of the cake. "I'm sure I will be duly embarrassed by the video."

Relena smiled at her. "I have a copy for myself for those days that I need a good laugh."

"What happened to Mrs. Drivel? She wasn't fired, was she?" Trynity felt sorry for her old teacher.

"No one can fire that crusty old witch. She insisted she hadn't put anything unusual in her flask except a little whiskey and she called you a light weight." Relena smiled. "Maybe you are."

Trynity really wasn't much of a drinker, but she knew Drivel had more than a little whiskey in her flask. "I suppose so, but she never did like me."

"She did like Duo so she was sorry for spoiling his wedding, but not sorry for spoiling yours."

Trynity shrugged. "It's over and done with."

"I'm still happy for you." Tears glistened in Relena's eyes. "I hope I will see you again."

"Of course you will!" Trynity took her hands and squeezed them. "Without needing the wormhole to travel, we will just have to make the time to visit each other."

"I would love that!"

Before they could talk any further, the men joined them and Trynity could see that Duo wasn't pleased by the results of their negotiations. Accompanied by two Calabrian guards, Duo appeared very regal, and Trynity was struck with a sudden panic that she now had responsibilities that were beyond her. He wasn't the goof ball pilot of the Deathscythe that had stolen her heart. Duo Maxwell was a lord of Calabria, the governor of a moon! She couldn't be his wife! What did she know about governing? All her life she had disdained such people, and now she was one of them.

"Take a deep breath," whispered Relena as she patted her hands. "You'll do fine."

When he spotted her, Duo's expression softened and Trynity felt more at ease. Later, as they sat in the moonlight on the beach under Seaside Lab, Trynity confessed her fears to him.

"I don't know if I can handle the responsibility of being your wife. Although I have never seen it, I have heard enough about your home from Quynn to know that I haven't the slightest experience of even maintaining your household."

He held her close in his arms. "You will do fine, Trynity. I'm sure there will be a few problems while you are settling in, but I have complete confidence in you." She felt better until he continued. "I was going to wait until we were on our way back to Calabria to tell you, but I guess I should warn you now that Trey does not approve of our marriage."

Her confidence wavered as she remembered what Camridaeus had told her, that she would bring shame on Duo's house.

"I would never deliberately embarrass you," she told him earnestly.

Duo pushed her head against his shoulder. "You don't have to prove yourself to me, Trynity. But Trey is a Calabrian through and through and believes you should have spent the last seventeen years pining for me and trying to raise our children on your own."

She looked up at his face. "Do you think I should have done that?"

He chuckled. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, babe. You did what you had to do to make a family for our children, and I am proud of you. I can't begin to imagine how you felt when you realized I wouldn't be there for you. It must have been your worst nightmares come true."

Trynity raised a brow. "When did you become so wise? I seem to recall you being angry that I spent the last seventeen years keeping Lars warm at night."

"Hey, babe, that is still a bit of a sore spot, but one that doesn't ache quite so much. I suppose my little heart to heart with the gods helped me realize that I couldn't change the past."

Duo felt Trynity stiffen in his arms. "Not the gods again!"

He regretted that she couldn't believe when he had complete faith in them. "I think that some day you will acknowledge them, Trynity."

"Don't hold your breath."

She wasn't going to listen to reason, so Duo decided not to press her. Trynity would have to come to the realization on her own that there was a greater force that dictated their lives. She needed rational explanations and there just wasn't one that he could give her. 

"We didn't come out here to talk, did we?" asked Trynity as she straddled his lap and pushed him back on the sand.

"I was hoping that we could dispense with the sand." Duo never did like their nighttime beach games. Her father's lip service to proper behavior lead to sneaking off to the beach in the first place, and since they were married now, he would rather not spend the rest of the night trying to get sand out of his hair. "Do I need to remind you," he said as her hands made a thorough search of him, "that there is a huge, comfortable bed with satin sheets back at the hotel."

Trynity made a delighted sound as one of her hands made a discovery. "Ha! You can't tell me you don't want a little fun on the beach."

Duo snorted with laughter. "That is my sword, babe."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed.

Before he could re-direct her search and give in to her – after all, they would be leaving for Calabria and would most likely never be on this beach again – he heard Stryfe calling for them. For once Duo was glad his son's timing was so bad. Quynn accompanied Stryfe, and they soon found them on the moonlit beach.

"Gramps said you needed us," said Stryfe.

Quynn elbowed her brother. 

Stryfe scratched his head in obvious embarrassment.

Duo chuckled. Ivan Stryfe couldn't resist getting back at them one last time. "I think we have things under control."

"Especially mom," commented Quynn with a brow raised at her mother.

Trynity gasped and jerked her hand away. "It was his sword!"

Quynn and Stryfe laughed, and Duo joined as he helped Trynity to her feet. She was burning with embarrassment. "Why don't we all head back up to the Lab? Your mother and I would like to make our good-byes."

He started to walk, but Trynity grabbed his hand. "You two go ahead," she told Stryfe and Quynn. "I'm not finished with my walk on the beach."

Duo could hear Stryfe and Quynn laughing as they walked back to the lab. He turned to look at Trynity. "I suppose you intend to get your way."

She slid her arms around his neck and leaned into him. "Get used to it, my lord husband."

****

Cinq Kingdom Space, near Mars Colony

Duo couldn't sleep. He still wasn't used to sharing his bed even after three months of marriage, and Trynity didn't make the new arrangement any easier because she was not a relaxed in her sleep. Now she was tossing in the midst of yet another nightmare. After all this time together, traveling through space and spending every waking moment within sight of each other, Trynity still had difficulty believing that he wasn't going to disappear. He doubted she even knew how often she reached for him in her sleep just to be assured he was still there. And if she remembered her dreams when she awoke, she didn't say anything. If Lars had put up with this, then the man should be canonized a saint.

"Duo? Where are you? Duo?"

He drew her into his embrace. "I'm here." But she didn't hear him. Trynity was still asleep. All he could do was to hold her close and be there for her when she awoke.

The communications panel by the bed buzzed, and Duo reached over to press it.

"My lord, we will be approaching Mars Colony in approximately one hour."

"Thank you. We will be ready when we do." He pressed the button to close communication and when he turned back he noticed that Trynity had awakened. "Did you hear?"

She nodded, then stretched out against him. "Why don't we just sail past Mars Colony? There is nothing there for me."

"Nothing but lose ends," he said. "Anyway, I was told you never went back, and I think you should."

She hid her face in his neck. "I have nothing there. I would rather forget that whole ugly part of my life."

"You must have had some happy times there, Trynity." He stroked her hair. She didn't respond to him and he imagined her thinking of better times with Lars. Duo wasn't jealous because he now knew how much she had needed someone when he had abandoned her. He was glad that Lars had been a patient, loving man to help her get through her loss. 

As for their stop at the Mars Colony, it was the last one before they left this system behind for good. They had already made several stops at different colonies where Duo tried to negotiate trade agreements. Unfortunately, word that the Cinq Kingdom made only limited agreements with Calabria had spread, so the officials at the various colonies were reluctant to make any treaties without the approval of the Cinq Kingdom. Duo couldn't fault Miliardo Peacecraft for his distrust of Calabria. Benton had sent a detailed report, and with his own son's description, the king of the Cinq Kingdom could only view Calabria as a potential hostile threat. Duo could think of some warlords who wouldn't think twice about invading a colony or even Earth if they had the technology to do it. This meant Duo had to sever most ties with his past, and so did his wife. But before they left, he wanted her to return to Mars Colony one last time. He didn't want her to regret not tying the loose ends of her life.

By the time the ship landed at the Mars Colony Spaceport, Trynity was obviously resigned to seeing what remained of her home and her life's work, the clinic, which had been destroyed by Camrin's thugs. Duo had already learned from Relena that Trynity had never gone back to Mars Colony, nor did she seem to regret her decision.

They were met at the port by one of Trynity's former patients. He chatted gaily on the short trip, telling her that the people who remained on Mars Colony had pooled together some money and resources and with additional outside donations, they had managed to rebuild the clinic. Duo was sure that Trynity had imagined the same clinic she had left behind because when they came in view of the structure, she gasped with surprise.

In place of the ramshackle clinic that she and Lars had never been able to finish was a large, modern building fronted by a plaza which was now crowded with at least a hundred people who were obviously awaiting her arrival. Trynity was speechless as she looked around the plaza and many of her former patients hurried forward to greet her. Duo stepped back as she was overwhelmed by their welcome. This was her dream come true.

Finally she was rescued by a couple of doctors who lead her inside the newly constructed clinic. The lobby was comfortable and cheery, unlike the waiting rooms of many hospitals. One of the doctors explained that in the process of cleaning up the previous clinic, they had found the original designs for the building Trynity and Lars had intended to build. Her former patients immediately began to carry out the plans. Thanks to the volunteering of time by builders, the donations of materials and money and in particular one huge donation that arrived only a few months earlier, they were able to complete the clinic in time for her to see when she arrived. Trynity's glance toward Duo told him that she suspected him of the largesse that enabled the building of the Mars Colony Nelson Memorial Infirmary. But she didn't have time to thank him before she was whisked away for a tour of the facility. 

The clinic was comprised of several examining rooms, and Dr. Carruthers, the interim director, explained that many physicians were rotating shifts between the planet and L12 as well as three doctors permanently on staff. The equipment was state of the art and the rooms more comfortable than any hospital room Duo had ever seen, almost like a room in a home. If this was Trynity's dream, then he was glad she was able to see it come true.

When the tour came to an end, Duo could see that Trynity was delighted with what had become of her clinic. 

Dr. Carruthers led them to a spacious office. "We do not yet have a director," he said at the doorway. He was looking at Trynity expectantly. She did not look at Duo. "Perhaps we can discuss some arrangement?" 

Trynity now looked at Duo with her brows raised.

He smiled at her. "Go ahead." She opened her mouth to argue, but he said, "If you don't consider it, you will regret it."

Trynity followed Dr. Carruthers into the office. If she wanted the position, there was nothing Duo could do but accept her decision. At least they didn't have to rely on the wormhole to see each other. The trip from Calabria had taken three months. With new ships that were being constructed at L10 for Calabrian use, the trip would take only two weeks.

One of the Calabrian guards approached Duo and informed him that a man was at the spaceport requesting an audience. Although he wanted to stay behind to hear Trynity's decision as soon as possible, he followed his guard back to the spaceport. Standing near his craft was a man wearing a hat pulled low and dark glasses. Beside him stood an older man that Duo vaguely recognized but couldn't place until he came to the visitor. The older man was a Winner servant Duo had first met many years ago. 

"He wanted to come here to speak to you although I warned him of the danger," Quatre Winner's servant told him.

"They don't understand," said Quatre, sliding the glasses down so that Duo could look him in the eye. "I was afraid that you wouldn't come to see me on L11. When your ship passed by the colony, I realized I would have to come here to speak to you."

Duo didn't know how to feel about him. Logically, he could not be blamed for what Camridaeus had done, and yet Duo was finding it difficult to be civil to him. "Say what you have to."

"I…I wanted you to know that I tried…tried to stop him."

Duo did not respond.

Quatre seemed flustered. "It…it was as if I were watching events from afar." He shifted uncomfortably, looked away for a moment, then having gathered what courage he seemed to need, he looked back at Duo. "He never would have harmed Trynity. For all its worth, he seemed to have some genuine affection for her. I know that he regretted, however little, what he had to do to get her..."

Duo cut him off. "What do you want from me, Quatre?" Duo didn't know if he had anything to give him. Quatre was innocent, and yet as he stood before him, Duo could only see the physical presence of the man who had harmed Trynity and caused the deaths of many people here on Mars Colony, on Ulfynaeus and on Calabria.

"I don't know."

The anguish in his voice was enough to move Duo. "I'm sorry," Duo finally said as he put his hands on the other man's shoulders. "I'm sorry that you have to live with this for the rest of your life."

Quatre stood shaking and weak in his grasp. "I couldn't do anything to stop him! He fell into my life, took Dorothy, used her, killed her, twisted our son and killed him, and he nearly destroyed Trynity."

"In the end he did the right thing," Duo reminded him.

"Can that forgive the suffering he caused?"

Duo couldn't answer that question. If Camridaeus hadn't rejected his father, none of them might be alive. "Did you fund the building of the clinic?"

"Although all the assets of the Winner Foundation have been seized, I discovered that Dorothy squirreled away fortunes here and there, probably intending to leave me. I will see that there is always more than adequate funding for the clinic."

Duo let his hands slide down so that he could grasp Quatre's hands. "You have to move on with the life that has been returned to you."

There was a sad smile on his lips. "I'm afraid I have to stay on L11 for the rest of my life. Heero doesn't think anyone in this galaxy could understand what happened to me. I will always be considered the monster that Camrin had made me. I wanted this chance to wish you and Trynity all the happiness you could ever hope for."

The sound of an approaching vehicle drew their attention and Duo turned around to see it pull to a stop and Trynity jump out. As she hurried to him, he could see tears rolling down her cheeks and he wondered what had happened. When she threw herself against him, he felt her trembling. 

"Don't leave!" she sobbed into his chest as her hands clutched his arms so tightly that he knew he was going to have bruises. Duo saw that Quatre had discreetly disappeared with his servant. He was glad because he doubted Trynity in this state could cope with seeing him.

"I wasn't planning on leaving," he told her.

She didn't seem to be listening to him as she sobbed against him. "I know what I told you a lifetime ago, but it wasn't true! I would never choose this place over you! Not now and not then! I don't ever want to be without you again."

Duo was so touched he couldn't speak.

Trynity looked up at him. "You won't leave me behind will you?"

Tears blurred his own vision as he looked down at her. "How can you even ask that of me?"

"Will we be together forever?" she insisted.

He crushed her to him. "This I know to be the will of the gods."

****

Epilogue

Something had awakened Trynity, and she had to blink several times to adjust her sight. Raising her head, she was startled to find Mrs. Drivel standing over her, and glancing down she saw that she had drooled over her literature book. What was happening?

"I realize you have only just arrived from a long space trip, but my classroom is no place for you to catch up on your sleep." Mrs. Drivel walked away to sit at her own desk. "I suggest you get the assignment from one of your new foster siblings and resume your beauty sleep elsewhere."

Trynity picked up her books and headed to the door. By the activity in the hallway, she could tell it was between classes so she hadn't missed the beginning of another. She fumbled through her pockets and found the rumpled class schedule. Her next class was Advanced Mathematical Equations. She frowned. Trynity clearly remembered Sally Po enrolling her in a simple math class that had her fuming.

Before she could wonder about the schedule change any further, she stepped on one of her untied shoelaces and lurched forward. Strong hands caught her and steadied her. She looked up to see Duo Maxwell. Trynity felt disoriented for a moment. This was not the same Duo Maxwell that had been in her wonderful dream. This Duo Maxwell was the buffoon who couldn't write the answer to the simple physics essay question Dr. Plume had given as a test a couple of hours ago.

"Hey, I hope you had a good nap." He reached down to pick up her literature book that had slipped to the floor when she stumbled.

Trynity wanted to say something sarcastically clever, but she just couldn't after the long dream she had. She still couldn't believe she was back here at the Academy. Were the gods giving her a chance to begin again? The gods?

"That lecture of Mrs. Drivel's about the Assyrian gods sure was boring, wasn't it? I had to fight sleep myself. Unfortunately that little catnap I took in Plume's class refreshed me so I had to stay awake."

So now she understood why that business about gods had invaded her dream.

"I mean, who would believe they could possibly come from space?" Duo took the rest of her books from her. "I'll walk you to your next class. I have moron math and it's not far from your classroom."

"You weren't at breakfast this morning," she said, for lack of anything else. Being near him made butterflies flutter in her belly. 

"I was out late last night so I kind of overslept."

"A date?"

"Hilde's birthday." He nodded down the hall and Trynity looked to see the girl in question. Hilde took one look at Duo, lifted her chin and spun to walk in the other direction. "What's her problem? It's not like she was the one who got ditched at the dance club."

"She ditched you?" Trynity's dream certainly was more fanciful than reality. So Duo Maxwell wasn't the pilot of a gundam? Was she?

"She hooked up with some pilot who apparently measured up a little better than me because the next thing I knew she was getting her own ride home." He stopped before a door. "We're here."

"Sorry your date ended up a disaster," she said. She really wasn't. Duo Maxwell was kind of cute although he wouldn't have any reason to be interested in a plain girl like her.

He bent down to tie her shoes. "No loss." He straightened. "Hey, since you are new here and you don't really know anybody, myself included, how about you agree to go to the Stardust Ball with me next week-end."

"I don't know how to dance."

"I'll teach you. We have a couple of weeks to practice."

Trynity had no reason to refuse. "Sure." Did she just agree to go to a formal dance with this guy she hadn't even been introduced to properly?

"Maxwell, let's go before Dimster hyperventilates because we're late." Heero Yuy was waiting at the classroom door with Trowa Barton and Quatre Winner.

Duo smiled at her before heading into the class with them.

Trynity could barely concentrate on math because she was thinking about her future date with Duo Maxwell. What did she know about dating boys? She had only known a couple in her life, those two pilots who had come to L10 to train. And the kisses Lars Nelson had stolen from her in the shadows could hardly constitute experience. By the time class came to an end she was quite nervous about seeing Duo again and thought maybe she should tell him that she had changed her mind.

But she heard him before she saw him.

"Get off my back. I'm not going to tell Trynity Stryfe that I have changed my mind now."

"You don't want to take her." Trowa Barton spoke now. They were just around the corner, but she stopped before they could see her. "She'll spoil the night for you. How can you possibly want to spend the rest of your life with her when there are plenty of young beauties around just begging for the chance to be yours."

What was Trowa talking about?

"Don't be a fool, Duo. You should have left her at Mars Colony and visited her when you wanted a little trip down memory lane."

Trynity stepped around the corner. "What did you say?" she demanded of Trowa.

"You heard me well enough. You aren't good enough for him. He's wasted enough of his life lamenting what he could have had with you when you spent it with another man. And now he's stuck with an old woman who can't even fill his house."

Trynity gasped and swung out to hit him, but he countered and slapped her face.

She jerked awake, her heart pounding and her breathing erratic. Trynity realized immediately that she had been dreaming. She hated those dreams, and she certainly didn't understand that dream when that very day Trey had made a special trip to Ulfynaeus to sanction their marriage after several months of refusing to even speak to her. Trynity had been hurt to know that the emperor still didn't trust her. Despite his broad-mindedness, Trey still measured a woman in her ability to produce offspring and the birth of her twin son and daughter had convinced him that the gods meant for her to be with Duo. Trynity thought it was more likely that she was one of those women who were prone to have twins. At least she could prove her worthiness to Trey in that respect.

Trynity turned to see Duo sleeping with his infant daughter cradled gently in his arms. Their son who hadn't been as willful after feeding was sleeping nearby in a cradle. Their birth hadn't been very easy for her. Needless to say there were no drugs to be had, and to make matters worse, Calabrian custom dictated that the father deliver his own offspring. Of course, no one had bothered to tell Trynity that detail until she was in labor and about to give birth. Trynity had been horrified when Apolo and Larya, who had been with her and Duo during the event, left her alone with the man who couldn't even guess twenty years ago that she had been pregnant despite all the most obvious signs. But as usual, Duo proved her wrong and turned out to be quite capable of helping her bring their children into the world. Trynity was at least comforted to know that Apolo and Larya were outside the door just in case the foolish humans couldn't manage on their own.

That was two months ago. Since then she had been busy trying to establish a routine, almost an impossibility due to the stubborn nature of their daughter. Oddly enough Larya had proven to be a big help to her. Trynity would always be bothered by the fact that she had given Duo a son, but as she spent more time with Larya, her hurt and jealousy faded. Seeing her and Apolo so happy together had more than a little bit to do with that because Trynity couldn't view her as a threat. Larya helped her learn her duties and care for the babies at the same time. She would actually miss the Calabrian woman when she returned to Dagmaeus with Apolo.

Her life with Duo was so satisfying and happy that Trynity couldn't believe she had ever doubted him. In that lifetime she had been a lonely girl who was afraid to lose what little she had. She would never completely lose that fear, as evidenced by the anxious feeling she had whenever Duo left the palace to deal with problems. But Duo's trust in the gods was starting to wear her down.

Carefully slipping from the bed, Trynity went first to the cradle to see that her baby boy was sleeping peacefully, a tiny finger popped in his mouth from which he sucked periodically. Trynity knew that he might awaken any moment demanding another feeding, so she moved away and walked to the window door leading to the balcony. She stepped out onto the balcony and went to the edge. As far as she could see in the dimly illuminated distance, there was peace and quiet. The palace was built on a rise overlooking a river valley. The river had been dammed to make a small lake that now seemed to sparkle in the light cast from Calabria and Dagmaeus. Looking up at the dark sky, Trynity marveled at the beauty of this place, with the large planet looming in the sky and the much smaller moon nearby. She understood why Duo didn't want to leave and why he had wanted to bring her here. She knew they would be happy here.

And Trynity was beginning to understand how Duo could put so much faith in his gods. She was foolish to refuse to believe. There was far too much that could not be logically explained. Despite her first instinct to find that logical explanation, Trynity had no choice but to acknowledge Duo's faith. Since the day she had awakened from the coma, she had to reexamine her life. What exactly was she in control of and what had the gods ordained? The wormhole had moved a long distance in space from its original position at L10 to L12 and Mars Colony. What reason was there? Perhaps the gods did have something to do with it, if not for her and Duo's sake, but for uniting Shamara and Dagan. And Duo should have died on Calabria when Orhan had attempted to kill him, but he lived, and Trynity knew in her heart that it was because she had called for the gods for whom he had such deep devotion, even if Camridaeus had something to do with it. 

She raised her arms to the sky and closed her eyes as she offered her own prayers to them. Trynity thanked them for all the happiness she had been given, and made a silent promise to honor them from this moment on.

So intent in those prayers, she didn't hear Duo approach or know that he was with her until he slid his hands up her arms and laced their fingers together. "Do you mind if I join you?" he murmured in her ear.

She opened her eyes and she saw a shower of sparkles in the sky. "Did you see that? I think the gods have answered me!"

Duo chuckled and put his arms around her waist to draw her closer. "Babe, that is a meteor shower. Fortunately the atmosphere on the moons is strong enough to burn the meteors attracted to Calabria, so we see them quite frequently."

Trynity turned in his arms and looked up at him. "Don't spoil this for me, Duo."

"Are you done praying? Because I think someone needs you."

She sighed. "I thought he looked like he was going to wake up."

His lips curved in a smile. "I wasn't talking about him." Duo lifted her in his arms. "We have about five minutes before he wakes up."

Trynity laughed. "More than enough time for you."

Duo lightly kissed her lips. "Someday I am going to make you regret that little joke."

She could see the meteor shower reflected in his eyes. "You have the rest of our lives to do it."


End file.
